GEOLOGY

EARTH SCIENCE

TECTONICS

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
What was missing from Alfred Wegener’s Continental Drift Theory that many criticized it for?
A
He couldn’t explain why the continents moved
B
He didn’t do a very good job writing about his ideas
C
Land bridges connecting the continents
D
He was a crazy little man
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -The main reason that Wegener’s hypothesis was not accepted was because he suggested no mechanism for moving the continents. He thought the force of Earth’s spin was sufficient to cause continents to move, but geologists knew that rocks are too strong for this to be true.

Detailed explanation-2: -By the 1960s, scientists had amassed enough evidence to support the missing mechanism-namely, seafloor spreading-for Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift to be accepted as the theory of plate tectonics.

Detailed explanation-3: -Wegener’s inability to provide an adequate explanation of the forces responsible for continental drift and the prevailing belief that the earth was solid and immovable resulted in the scientific dismissal of his theories.

Detailed explanation-4: -Wegener suggested that perhaps the rotation of the Earth caused the continents to shift towards and apart from each other.

Detailed explanation-5: -Answer and Explanation: Wegener’s idea of continental drift was not accepted by the scientific community because he was unable to explain how the continents moved. He was only able to show that at one point, the continents were all connected into one large landmass.

There is 1 question to complete.