(Solution) OCE1001 INTRO OCEANOGRAPHY: Assignment: Plate Tectonics – Chapter 2

Answer the following questions. Submit a MS Word document or *.pdf file with your responses to the assignment dropbox. All answers should be in your own words (do not copy and paste definitions). Answer each question in at least one complete sentence; some answers may require more explanation than others. Each question is worth 2 points unless otherwise indicated.

Evidence For Continental Drift

  1. What does ‘continental drift’ mean?
  2. When was this idea of continental drift proposed?
  3. What did Wegener observe about the shapes of continental coastlines?
  4. Give one example of a pair of continents that were used to support the existence of Pangaea.
  5. What is a fossil?
  6. What was observed about the location of fossils that supported the existence of Pangaea? What types of fossils were observed?
  7. How did characteristics (e.g. location, chemical composition, age, etc.,) of certain rocks and mountain ranges support the existence of Pangaea?
  8. What is a glacier? Which environmental conditions are necessary for glaciers to form?
  9. What is a glacial deposit?
  10. What does the presence of glacial deposits tell scientists about the past climate in a particular area?
  11. How did glacial deposits provide evidence that Pangaea had existed?
  12. Why wasn’t Wegener’s idea of continental drift accepted by the scientific community?

Evidence For Plate Tectonics

The Theory of Plate Tectonics is a modified version of continental drift. Scientists made several observations that provided evidence for plate tectonics. To facilitate your understanding of these three lines of evidence, you will review four world maps. Look for patterns shared between the four maps.

Solution:

  1. Continental drift is a theory positing that the earth’s continents have either moved apart or joined together at different geologic times.
  2. The continental drift idea was proposed in 1912 by Alfred Wegener.
  3. Wegener observed that the shapes of the coastlines, if joined together, would fit almost perfectly.
  4. The South America and Africa continents were used to support Pangaea through the similarities of western Africa and eastern South America coastlines.
  5. A fossil entails remains of creatures or plants that at one time lived or grew on the earth…Please click here to download the solution $10