Comparative Analysis: Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics

1. What is the theory of continental drift? What evidence was used to support this
theory? (1 paragraph)
Wegener became interested in the idea of a single continent in 1910, by observing
an atlas and noting the coasts of the Africa and South American. Sometime later he read
a paleontological paper discussing the similarities of terrestrial fossil life forms between
separated continents. Like a puzzle also the outlines of continents seem to fit together.
There are various geomorphologic and geological similarities along the coasts of South
America-Africa and Europe-North America. Fossil of land vertebrates and plants can be
found on different continents, separated today by large oceans. Fossil evidence of ancient
climates, today without a recognizable pattern, will form climate zones when the
continents are put together.
2. What is the theory of plate tectonics? What evidence was/is used to support this
theory? (1 paragraph)
Few handfuls of major plates and dozens of smaller, or minor, plates. Six of the
majors are named for the continents embedded within them, such as the North
American, African, and Antarctic plates. Plates make up Earth's outer shell, called
the lithosphere. Currents in the molten rocks below propel them along like a jumble of
conveyor belts in disrepair. Most geologic activity stems from the interplay where the
plates meet or divide.
3. What similarities exist between the theory of plate tectonics and the theory of
continental drift? (1 paragraph)
They both are effected by the earth’s plates which are the plate tectonics. The continents
moved away from one another which is the continental drift theory. The plates in the
earth moved which moved the continent away from each other.
4. What differences exist between the theory of plate tectonics and the theory
of continental drift? (1 paragraph)
The plate tectonics was a different discovery than continental drift. The continental drift
was first which lead to the plate tectonics. This is the differences between plate tectonics
and continental drift.
5. What caused the shift in backing from the scientific community away from the
theory of continental drift toward the theory of plate tectonics? (1 paragraph)
Continental drift describes one of the earliest ways geologists thought continents moved
over time. Today, the theory of continental drift has been replaced by the science of plate
tectonics. The theory of continental drift is most associated with the scientist Alfred
Wegener. In the early 20th century, Wegener published a paper explaining his theory
that the continental landmasses were “drifting” across the Earth, sometimes plowing
through oceans and into each other. He called this movement continental drift.