Why was the theory of continental drift rejected quizlet?
Why was the theory of continental drift rejected quizlet?
Why was Wegener’s hypothesis rejected? Because Wegener could not identify the cause of continental drift, most geologists rejected his idea. Continental drift was what Wegener invented. Wegener’s hypothesis was rejected from geologists because he couldn’t identify the cause of continental drift.
Who rejected the continental drift?
physicist Scheidegger
As late as 1953—just five years before Carey introduced the theory of plate tectonics—the theory of continental drift was rejected by the physicist Scheidegger on the following grounds.
What was wrong with the continental drift hypothesis?
The Problem with the Hypothesis To his colleagues, his greatest problem was that he had no plausible mechanism for how the continents could move through the oceans. Based on his polar experiences, Wegener suggested that the continents were like icebreaking ships plowing through ice sheets.
What was Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift quizlet?
Wegeners hypothesis was that all the continents were once joined together in a single landmass and have since drifted apart. Wegener gathered evidence from different scientific fields to support his ideas about continental drift. He studied land features, fossils, and evidence of climate change.
What was the response to Wegener’s hypothesis quizlet?
What was the response to Wegener’s hypothesis? People weren’t very receptive and his hypothesis was ignored.
What force caused the movement of the continents?
convection currents
The theory of plate tectonics suggests that it is convection currents in the mantle of the earth that causes the movement of the continental plates.
What was the question that Wegener theory of continental drift Cannot answer?
The problem that was used to reject Continental Drift is that the theory had no mechanism or explanation for what could cause the movement of the massive continents.
How did opponents of continental drift account?
How did opponents of continental drift account for the existence of similar fossils on widely separated continents? He could not provide a mechanism for the movement of the continents.
Which of the following were initially used to support the hypothesis of continental drift?
Wegener used fossil evidence to support his continental drift hypothesis. The fossils of these organisms are found on lands that are now far apart. Wegener suggested that when the organisms were alive, the lands were joined and the organisms were living side-by-side.
What evidence supported the hypothesis of continental drift?
The evidence for continental drift included the fit of the continents; the distribution of ancient fossils, rocks, and mountain ranges; and the locations of ancient climatic zones.
What causes the tectonic plates to move and cause continental drift?
The crust is broken up into giant tectonic plates that ride atop the magma, hot melted-rock material that makes up much of the interior of the Earth. Over millions of years, the continents drift into new configurations. Convection in the molten rock of Earth’s mantle drives the movement of the plates.
What causes the continents to change location over time?
Tectonic plates are pieces of the Earth’s lithosphere, which is composed of the crust and uppermost part of mantle of the planet. Impacted by changing temperatures in the layers of the planet, tectonic plates move over and under one another, causing shifts in the locations of the continents over time.
Why did Alfred Wegener’s contemporaries reject his theory of continental drift?
Alfred Wegener’s contemporaries rejected his theory of continental drift because it challenged many established scientific theories at the time, and he lacked a compelling explanation for the cause of continental drift.
What evidence is there for continental drift?
Although modern scientists continue to reject Wegener’s explanation for continental drift, the theory of drifting continents has gained wide acceptance in the scientific community. Discoveries in the 1950s provided evidence for paleomagnetism, suggesting that continents do move.
What caused Pangaea to break apart?
He argued that Pangaea was originally located near the south pole and that centrifugal force and tidal pull caused the continent to break up and drift apart. Scientists quickly rejected this explanation, stating that these two forces were not strong enough to cause continental drift.
Why are there similar fossils in different continents?
However, at that time, many scientists that had observed similarities in fossils in places like South America and Africa believed there were similar fossils in different continents because of a land bridge that were formed by two continents.
