Evidence for Continental Drift

Which of the following would not be direct evidence that continental drift occurred in the distant past?

Continents currently move several meters every year
The shapes of the continents appear to fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle
Ancient fossils from distant continents are identical
Rocks and geological structures are identical, or very similar, on different continents

Why was Wegener so puzzled about finding fern fossils in Antarctica?

The same fossils were found on other continents, ferns are a warm-climate plant, and polar climates have never been mild enough for ferns to survive
He thought there would also be fossils of animals that ate the ferns there as well, but could not find these fossils
During magnetic reversal events, Antarctica would have become warmer, but not warm enough for ferns to grow
He thought that all of the paleoglaciation on Antarctica would have scraped away all fossils

Although Wegener presented an interesting theory of continental drift, his ideas were not treated kindly by the scientists of his time. What was the one part of his continental drift theory that he could not convince others was possible?

The way that continents move through solid ocean floors
That common fossils existed on different continents
The fact that mountain ranges, valleys and paleoglaciation evidence matches on different continents
The appearance that the shapes of many continents seem to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle

Plate tectonics refers to the fact that the surface of Earth is broken into several large "plates" which ride along on what resembles a giant conveyer belt of rock.

Using this analogy, what would be the beginning of the conveyer belt?

Ocean ridges
Hot spots
Tectonic plate edges
Earthquakes

Which of the following is not a piece of evidence to support plate tectonics?

Sediments on the ocean floor are much thicker close to ocean ridges than near continents
Ocean floor samples taken near oceanic ridges is much younger than ocean floor samples taken near continents
Long stripes of iron-rich basalt rock with reversing polarity run parallel to ocean ridges
Much of Earth's volcanic and earthquake activity occurs along the boundaries of tectonic plates

Which part of the plate tectonic theory explains what actually makes the plates move?

Sea floor spreading
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Paleomagnetism

The following map shows the Hawaiian Islands. Notice the arrow in the lower right corner. This shows an active volcano on the big island of Hawaii, which is the only Hawaiian island with active volcanoes.

The Hawaiian Islands formed over a hot spot in the ocean floor. Which direction is the ocean floor moving in this location?

Northwest
Northeast
Southwest
Southeast

New rock is created at ocean ridges, pushing the older ocean floor away from the ridge. What causes the new rock to form?

Convection currents in the magma below the ocean floor
Volcanic eruptions
Earthquakes in the ocean crust
Movement of the ocean crust over hot spots

The theory of continental drift named a key part of this idea Pangaea. What is Pangaea?

A supercontinent that existed in Earth's distant past
The underwater ocean range in the middle of the ocean
The hot spot which gave rise to the Hawaiian Islands, among others
One of the ancient animals that helped Wegener prove that fossils from different continents originally came from the same location

Which of the following locations did not belong to Pangaea?

Hawaii
Antarctica
Africa
India

Evidence for Continental Drift - Section 12.1 Quiz