EARTH SCIENCE
TECTONICS
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Continental drift describes the motion of Earth’s continents only; plate tectonics describes the motion of the crust beneath Earth’s oceans as well.
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Plate tectonics was Wegener’s theory that Earth’s continents rest on sections of Earth’s crust that drift together and apart over time; continental drift is a hypothesis describing how plate tectonics might happen.
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Continental drift was Wegener’s hypothesis that Earth’s continents were once part of a supercontinent that has since broken apart; plate tectonics is the theory that explains how continental drift happens.
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Continental drift is supported only by observations of similar coastlines and geologic features on opposite sides of an ocean; plate tectonics is supported by a wide range of fossil evidence as well.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Plate tectonics explains why Earth’s continents are moving; the theory of continental drift did not provide an explanation. Therefore, the theory of plate tectonics is more complete.
Detailed explanation-2: -The continental drift hypothesis (introduced by Alfred Wegener in 1912) states that at one point in time, all of the continents were joined together as one large mass of land, then the land spread apart and drifted into their current positions.
Detailed explanation-3: -What are the differences between Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics? Continental drift believes that the continents moved because the magnetism of the sea floor. Plate tectonics believes that the lithosphere & the asthenosphere of the continents caused them to move.
Detailed explanation-4: -Supporters of continental drift originally theorized that the continents moved (drifted) through unmoving oceans. Seafloor spreading proves that the ocean itself is a site of tectonic activity. Keeping Earth in Shape Seafloor spreading is just one part of plate tectonics. Subduction is another.