EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Wegener found fossil evidence that the continents were once joined. The same type of plant and animal fossils are found on continents that are now widely separated. Wegener suggested that when the organisms were alive, the lands were joined and the organisms were living side-by-side.

Detailed explanation-2: -He hypothesized that all of the modern-day continents had previously been clumped together in a supercontinent he called Pangaea (from ancient Greek, meaning “all lands” or “all the Earth”). Over millions of years, Wegener suggested, the continents had drifted apart.

Detailed explanation-3: -Wegener supported his theory by demonstrating the biological and geological similarities between continents. South America and Africa contain fossils of animals found only on those two continents, with corresponding geographic ranges.

Detailed explanation-4: -Wegener thought that the continents were moving through the earth’s crust, like icebreakers plowing through ice sheets, and that centrifugal and tidal forces were responsible for moving the continents.

Detailed explanation-5: -In 1912, German scientist Alfred Wegener proposed a theory he called continental drift. According to Wegener’s theory, Earth’s continents once formed a single, giant landmass, which he called Pangaea. Over millions of years, Pangaea slowly broke apart, eventually forming the continents as they are today.