What term did Alfred Wegener use to describe the ancient supercontinent that existed before the continents split?

Pangaea

True or False: According to Wegener, Pangaea began to split approximately 200 million years ago.

True

What was the primary argument presented by Alfred Wegener regarding the distribution of continents?

He argued that all continents were once part of a single landmass that later drifted apart.

The matching of the shorelines of Africa and South America is an example of ___ evidence supporting the theory of continental drift.

Geological

True or False: The earliest marine deposits along the coastlines of South America and Africa are of Cretaceous age.

False. The earliest marine deposits along these coastlines are of Jurassic age.

The presence of tillite in the Gondawana system indicates ___.

Extensive glaciation in the past

Placer deposits are formed from ___ and are key in understanding the historical geology of continents.

The accumulation of valuable minerals through sedimentary processes

The occurrence of rich placer deposits of gold in Ghana is due to the erosion of ___ from the Brazil plateau.

Gold bearing veins

True or False: Fossil distribution of identical species across land masses suggests a former contiguous land connection.

True

Identical species of plants and animals found on either side of marine barriers present a problem in ___ studies.

Biogeography

Fill in the blank: The hypothesis of a landmass called 'Lemuria' was proposed to explain the distribution of ___ found in India, Madagascar, and Africa.

Lemurs

Fill in the blank: The polar-fleeing force is related to the ___ of the Earth, which has a bulge at the equator.

Rotation

What was the primary source of evidence for continental drift before post-war studies?

Distribution of flora and fauna or deposits like tillite.

Fill in the blank: Arthur Holmes discussed the possibility of ___ currents operating in the mantle, generated by thermal differences.

Convection

Short Answer: How did the mapping of the ocean floor contribute to the understanding of continental drift?

It provided new dimensions for the study of the distribution of oceans and continents.

The ocean floor is segmented into three major divisions: continental margins, deep-sea basins, and ___ ridges.

Mid-oceanic