plate tectonics !!
This modern theory, developed decades after Wegener’s death, finally provided the mechanism he was missing.
Plate Tectonics
Over time, the supercontinent broke apart into smaller pieces called these.
Continents
What did Alfred Wegener name his supercontinent?
Pangea
What plate boundary has subduction, trenches, mountains, and volcanoes?
Convergent
The longest chain of mountains in the world is the system of ____?
mid-ocean ridges
This type of crust is thicker and makes up the continents
Continental Crust
Continental drift involves movement of this outer layer of Earth.
The Crust
Wegener used matching fossils, like this extinct reptile found in both South America and Africa, as evidence for his theory?
Mesosaurus
What plate boundary has fault lines?
Transform
This process happens when new ocean floor is created as magma rises and cools
sea-floor spreading
These deep places in the ocean form at subduction zones
Ocean Trenches
Did the continents move fast or slow while drifting apart?
Slow
Why couldn't Alfred Wegener prove his hypothesis?
He couldn't find a explanation for what force pushed and pulled the continents.
What plate boundary has mid-ocean ridges and rift valleys?
Divergent
Rocks closer to the ridge are this compared to rocks farther away
Younger
Tectonic plates float on this softer, semi-solid layer beneath them
The Mantle
Continental drift is considered a scientific idea or this
A theory
Wegener pointed out that these two continents fit together like puzzle pieces, especially along their coastlines.
South America and Africa
What boundary created the Himalayas and Appalachian mountain ranges?
Convergent
This hot melted material rises from inside Earth to create new ocean crust.
Magma
This process happens when one tectonic plate slides under another
Subduction
How long ago did Pangea start to split up
200 Million Years Ago
What were Alfred Wegener's three reasons of evidence for why the continents were once one supercontinent.
Land Features, Fossils, and Climate Change
What is the San Andreas Fault?
A transform plate boundary that extends through California.
The crust created at mid-ocean ridges becomes part of this large outer layer of Earth
Lithosphere