Group Name: _________________________________ Date: _____________________

Introduction:

The Continental Drift Theory was developed in the early part of the 20th century, mostly by
Alfred Wegener. Wegener said that continents move around on Earth’s surface and that they were
once joined together as a single supercontinent. Alfred Wegener proposed that the continents
were once united into a single supercontinent named Pangaea, meaning all earth in ancient
Greek. That’s the true size and shape of a continent and many can be pieced together like a puzzle.
The easiest link is between the eastern Americas and western Africa and Europe, but the rest can
fit together too. He suggested that Pangaea broke up long ago and that the continents then
moved to their current positions.

Besides the way the continents fit together, Wegener and his supporters collected a great
deal of evidence for the continental drift theory. In this activity you will be like Wegener and his
team. You will explore the different evidences given by Wegener to support his claim that the
continents were once connected with each other.

Objectives:

At the end of the activity students should be able to:

1. Enumerate the evidences found in the present continents to support the continental drift theory.
2. Analyze evidences of continental drift theory.
3. Reconstruct Pangaea based on evidences found in each continent.

Materials: Manila paper, marker, pictures of continents, glue/paste, scotch tape, scissors

Procedures:

A.
1. Get the cut out continents from your teacher.
2. Name each continent. You may use a world map.
3. Connect each piece together using the symbols found in each continents.
4. Glue your connected continents in a manila paper.

B. Complete the table below.

ANALYZING EVIDENCE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY

Does it What evidence is
support the being given?
idea that
Is it the A. Fossil correlation
evidence Statements continents B. Puzzle fit of
continents
? have
C. Rock and
moved?
Mountain Evidence
Yes No Yes No D. Paleoclimate
1. 1858: Geologist Eduard Seuss points out that fossils of the
glossopteris plant are found in Southern Africa, South
America, Australia, Antarctica and India.
2. Wegener examines the location of tiny rocks and the
direction of grooves formed by large glaciers scraping across
southern areas of Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica
and India. He concludes that if all these places were fitted
together, they would form a continuous ice sheet expanding
outward in all directions.
3. Frankfurt News, January 6, 1912: Announcement that
German Scientist Alfred Wegener will speak at the Geological
Association meeting.
 4. Popular geology magazine, March 12, 1912: “ Continents
are so large they must always have been where they are.”
5. Wegener observes that a South American mountain range
in Argentina lines up with an ancient African mountain range
in South Africa when the two continents are placed together.
6. 1927: Geologist Alexander du Toit observes rock layers on
the western coast of Africa in the following sequence: basalt
rock, shale containing fossil reptiles, coal layers containing
Glossopteris fossils, rocks containing Mesosaurus fossils and
shale. He discovers an almost identical sequence of rock
layers on the eastern coast of South America.
7. 1944: Geologist Baily Willis calls Wegener’s theory a fairy
tale. He argues that the theory should be ignored.
8. 1965: Geologist Edward Bullard uses computers to match
coast of South America and Africa. They match extremely
well at an ocean depth of 1,000 meters.
9. 1980s: Satellites and lasers are used to measure the
movement of continents. They continue to move at an
average of about 2 cm ( 0.08 in) per year.
10. Fossils of Megascolecina earthworms are found in South
America, Africa , India and Australia, as well as the Islands of
Madagascar and New Guinea.
11. Coal Beds were discovered in South America, Africa,
Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and even Antarctica.
Coal beds were formed from the compaction and
decomposition of swamp plants that lived million years ago.
This also tells about the climate of these continents million
years ago
12. The current location of Antarctica could not sustain
substantial amount of life but studies on its rock layers and
coal deposits shows a substantial amount of life. This means
that Antarctica experience a tropical climate , it might have
been closer to the equator.
13. Mesosaurus and Lystrosaurus are freshwater reptiles. Fossils
of these animals were discovered in different continents, such
as in South America and Africa. It is impossible for these
reptiles to swim over the vast oceans and move from one
continent to another. Fossils were also found in Antarctica.

Question.

1. What are the evidences of Continental Drift Theory?