Plate Tectonics Key Concept What evidence do scientists use to support the theor
ID: 286845 • Letter: P
Question
Plate Tectonics Key Concept What evidence do scientists use to support the theory of plate tectonics? Directions: Put a check mark in the column that describes each type of evidence. Fossil Geological Evidence Evidence 1. The same ancient plant existed on different continents 2. Similar rocks are found on two distant continents. 3. Freshwater reptiles are found in South America and Africa. 4. Similar animals are found on two continents separated by a vast ocean. 5. Locations of ancient glaciers can be traced from one continent to the next Directions: Answer each question on the lines provided. 6. How is the theory of plate tectonics supported by the fact that mountain ranges that formed at similar times exist on continents that are far apart today? 7. How does similar fossil evidence found on two continents separated by a vast ocean support the theory of plate tectonics?Explanation / Answer
6. The mountains that formed on a continent at any point of time in the past was subjected to divergent continental boundary and hence is under extensional regime due to which the continent broke up into two or more than two parts due to which the mountain previous formed was shared by all the newly formed continents, as these continents drifted apart the part in between is filled by water and today we see the same aged mountain in two different continents separate by oceans and therefore this is used by scientists to support the theory of plate tectonics.
7. Again during the ancient times 10’s or 100’s of million years ago the organisms where living in a continent then due to extensional force divergent boundary came into effect and hence the various parts of the continent broke out of it and started drifting away from each other and that is why we are having fossil records of the same organisms on very different continents separated by large ocean and again this can be used to validate theory of plate tectonics.
The check marks are all correct.