Book chapter full text access chapter 1 palaeomagnetic evidence for continental drift and its geophysical cause. If these continents were once united around the south polar region, this glaciation would become explicable as a unified sequence of events in time and space. A widelyheld theory that explains these movements is called plate tectonics. In many instances, similar fossil assemblages are preserved in rocks of the same age in different continents. Pdf a historical account of how continental drift and plate tectonics. The section also gives evidence for the theory and explains why the theory was not accepted for many years. Ncert notes on important topics for the upsc civil services exam. Ironically, the most compelling single piece of evidence, that of the eltanin profile, was collected by an institute with a strong tradition of opposition to continental drift. The rejection of continental drift uc press journals. Students will observe and analyze scientific evidence used by wegener. You will be piecing together a puzzle of the supercontinent pangaea based on fossil and rock evidence on the presentday continents. Color the legend on the puzzle pieces handout according to the key.
File type icon file name description size revision time user. In this lesson, students learn about the evidence for continental drift and about the process. Students will use the evidence to try to reconstruct the continents. Click on module 3 plate tectonics to the right under featured content 3. After students have completed the procedure, use question 1 to discuss how particular statements provided evidence for continental movement. First he dated the earth by using uranium radioactive decay to lead which incidentally supported continental drift and second he showed where.
Continental drift a brief history of continental drift theories continued 1944 arthur holmes suggests a mechanism for continental drift based on convection currents in the earths mantle. Alfred wegener and the hypothesis of continental drift authors. This unit is in pdf format with the good quality of images. Continental drift, largescale horizontal movements of continents relative to one another and to the ocean basins during one or more episodes of geologic time. Continental drift and plate tectonics university of iceland. Wegener and his theory of continental drift springerlink.
Evidence for continental drift wegener gathered evidence for his hypothesis from fossils, from studies of ancient climate, and from the geology of continents. This article talks about the continental drift theory upsc. Palaeontological remains of fossil plants and animals are amongst the most compelling evidence for continental drift. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in. Wegener suggested that there was once a single land mass, or supercontinent, that he referred to as pangaea. The bulge of brazil south america seems to fit into the gulf of guinea africa. My fellow scientists, make sure you introduce yourself as alfred wegener. What evidence is there of the continental drift theory. Fossils wegener learned that the fossils of an ancient reptile, mesosaurus mehzuhsawruhs, had been discovered in south america and western africa. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Who proposed the theory and what evidence did he provide to prove his theory. Indications of widespread glaciation from 380 to 250 million years ago are evident in antarctica, southern south america, southern africa, india, and australia.
Students will read and interpret maps and map symbols. Wegener explicitly presented his theory as a means to reconcile historical geology with isostasy. Wegener provided four main pieces of evidence to support his theory that the continents had been drifting over time. A theory proposed by alfred wegner that said all continents were once joined 300 million years ago in a single land mass called pangaea. According to wegener, these forces would become effective when applied over many million years, and the drift is continuing. Continental trench, volcanic arc, subduction, lithosphere, asthenosphere. The coasts of the continents surrounding the atlantic ocean could, if the continents were moved closer, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. The concept was independently and more fully developed by alfred wegener in 1912, but his theory was rejected by many for. He had previously worked out two critical problems. State alfred wegeners hypothesis about how earths continents.
For one, identical rocks of the same type and age are found on both sides of the atlantic ocean. On the puzzle pieces handout, assign a color to each type of fossil or mountain belt in the legend and color the areas on the landmasses according to the legend. You will be piecing together a puzzle of the supercontinent pangea based on fossil and rock evidence on the present day continents. Students create an interactive notebook foldable of notes and use this to create a cer scientific argument with claim, evidence, and reasoning. Discuss how the fossil and rock layers provide evidence for continental movement.
One indication of this possibility is the appearance of the western african and eastern south american coasts, which look like two interlocking jigsaw. See more ideas about earth science, plate tectonics and 6th grade science. Mesosaurus small fresh water reptile glossopteris plant remains. Continental drift is a theory originally proposed by alfred wegener, who believed the continents were once one large continent known as pangaea that later separated into several continents. Continental drift is the theory that the earths continents have moved over geologic time relative to each other, thus appearing to have drifted across the ocean bed. Students will defend their position on continental drift. Wegener noticed that if we could move present day continents around, several continents look like they would fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. In this activity students recreate the argument wegener used to support his theory of continental drift. Write a 45 sentence paragraph introducing the theory of continental drift. This lab is designed to get your students engaged, collaborating, and moving in your daily lesson. This concept was an important precursor to the development of the theory of plate tectonics, which incorporates it. Station activity includes activities covering pangaea, alfred wegener, and different forms of evidence for continental drift theory. Evidence for continental drift besides the way the continents fit together, wegener and his supporters collected a great deal of evidence for the continental drift hypothesis. The speculation that continents might have drifted was first put forward by abraham ortelius in 1596.
He had initially become fascinated by the nearperfect fit between the coastlines of africa and south america, and by the commonality among their geological features, fossils, and evidence of a glaciation having affected these two separate continents. The theory of continental drift continental drift discovery the world alfred wegener theory of continental drift continental drift p95 red book, 182 in sciencesaurus theory that continents were once part of a single landmass that broke apart and have moved to their present locations. Alfred wegener and the hypothesis of continental drift. The students will be able to identify the evidence for continental drift and locate them on a map. The evidence which gave rise to the theory of continental drift more correctly called plate tectonics includes the following. Most scientists simply refused to accept the idea of continents floating around on earths surface. These notes will also be useful for other competitive exams like banking po, ssc, state civil services exams and so on. There are multiple lines of evidence for changes in the position of the continents over geologic time. Students will interpret the evidence to formulate a hypothesis. Continental drift wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This activity attempts to explore how changes in the model, and the evidence available, led. The science behind the drift alfred wegeners theory of continental drift was extremely controversial. Fossils certain fossils preserved in rocks of the same age but from different continents. Unit 6 plate tectonics ms lee earth science part 2.
In this article i analyse continental drift debates. What are six things that supported wegeners theory of continental drift. Explanation of the continental drift theory in the light of vertebrate distribution. Check out my digital continental drift cer designe. In this article we will discuss about continental drift. Supporting evidence the earths crust is constantly moving, both vertically and horizontally, at rates of up to several inches a year. Eye catching neat and colorful images will really create a deep interest for the students to learn and grasp the knowledge.