Continental Drift Video Notes [Answer Key]
Directions: Watch the videos and fill in the blanks.
Continental Drift: Alfred Wegener Song
By The Amoeba People
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1-cES1Ekto
Animated Life: Pangea | Op-Docs
By The New York Times
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRqjo-N_TDU
Continental Drift [Updated 2018]
by Mike Sammartano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM8KrmRedSw
1. Alfred Wegener was born in 1880 in GERMANY.
2. He got his degree in astronomy but went into METEOROLOGY
(the study of weather and atmosphere).
3. He pioneered the use of balloons to track air currents and went
on expeditions to GREENLAND to study polar weather.
4. He was also interested in GEOPHYSICS.
5. The continents almost look like they fit together, sort of like the
pieces of a giant massive PUZZLE.
6. This is most obvious around the eastern coast of SOUTH AMERICA
and the western coast of AFRICA.
7. Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) concluded that THE CONTINENTS
ARE MOVING.
8. He had the idea that the continents were once together forming a
SUPERCONTINENT.
9. This was named PANGAEA, coming from the Greek term “ALL
EARTH”.
10.
Alfred Wegener collected FOUR pieces of evidence.
11.
Evidence #1: THE APPARENT FIT OF THE CONTINENTS
a. The coastlines of the continents appear to fit together like
the pieces of a puzzle.
12.
Evidence # 2: FOSSIL CORRELATION
a. Identical fossils have been found in the rocks on either side
of the ocean.
13.
Evidence # 3: ROCK AND MOUNTAIN CORRELATION
a. Identical rocks and mountain structures have been found
on either side of the ocean.
14.
Evidence # 4: PALEOCLIMATE DATA
a. Coal (bituminous) has been found in cold regions and
glacial (striations) evidence has been found in warm
regions.
15.
These four pieces of evidence developed the idea of
CONTINENTAL DRIFT and were documented in Alfred Wegener’s
book titled THE ORIGIN OF CONTINENTS AND OCEANS. He
presented this evidence in 1915.
16.
Alfred Wegener could not explain what FORCE was driving
the motion of the continents.
17.
Because he could not explain WHY the continents drifted
apart, his idea was REJECTED in the scientific community.
18.
In November of 1930, Alfred Wegener died from sheer
EXHAUSTION, HAD A HEART ATTACK, AND FROZE TO DEATH on
an expedition in the ice sheets of GREENLAND.