1. EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?
Drifting Continents
EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?

2. Theory of Continental Drift
Based on a hypothesis formed by Alfred Wegner in 1910
States that all continents had once been joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart
Named the giant landmass Pangaea
Means all lands
Occurred over tens of millions of years
EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?

3. EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?
Wegener collected evidence from many fields including:
Landforms
Fossils
Climate change
EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?

4. EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?
Landforms
Mountain ranges and other features provide evidence for continental drift
Mountain range in western Africa matches up and lines up with a range in Argentina
European and North American coal fields match up
EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?

5. EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?
Any trace of an ancient organism preserved in rock
Glossopteris
Fern like plant from 250 million years ago
Fossils have been found in rocks in Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica
Fossils
EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?

6. EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?
Climate
Earth’s climate has not changed, instead the positions of the continents have changed
There are warm climate animal and plant fossils found in arctic regions
There is evidence of glacier activity in South Africa where it is now very warm

7. Scientists Reject Wegener
Because Wegener could not provide a satisfactory explanation for the force that pushes or pulls continents
Wegener theory was discounted until the 1960’s when new evidence lead scientists to reconsider Wegener’s theory
EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?

8. Class Work and Homework
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What did I learn
Confused
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Read F28 – F32, Questions 1-4
EQ: What is the theory of continental drift?