Name: _____________________________________Date: ________________
Earth Science
Mr. Herman
Exeter SHS
Chapter 9.1 Continental Drift
Vocabulary
Continental Drift
Pangaea
Objective
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Describe the hypothesis of continental drift
Evaluate the evidence in support of continental drift
Identify the main objections to Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift.
After reading the section 9.1 answer the following question.
1. What are some of the evidence Wegener used in formulating his continental
drift theory?
2. Do you think Pangaea was a “one time” event or do you think this may have
happened before in the past? Explain
3. If earthquakes generally happen at plate boundaries, why do we have
earthquakes in this area? Explain
An Idea Before Its Time
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Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis stated that the continents had once been
joined to form a single supercontinent.
Wegener proposed that the supercontinent, Pangaea, began to break apart 200
million years ago and form the present
landmasses.
An Idea Before Its Time
Evidence
 The Continental Puzzle
 Matching Fossils
 Fossil evidence for continental drift includes several fossil organisms found on
different landmasses.
Evidence
 Rock Types and Structures
 Rock evidence for continental exists in the form of several mountain belts that
end at one coastline, only to reappear on a landmass across the ocean.
 Ancient Climates
Rejecting the Hypothesis
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Wegener could not provide an explanation of exactly what made the continents
move.
News technology lead to findings which then lead to a new theory called plate
tectonics.