Pangaea and Continental Drift Worksheet

Pangaea and Continental Drift

Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. Use the provided space for your responses.

Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It began to break apart about 175 million years ago, eventually forming the continents we know today. The theory of continental drift explains how continents shift position on Earth's surface.

1. What was the name of the supercontinent that existed millions of years ago?

2. Who proposed the theory of continental drift?

3. Observe the image below showing the breakup of Pangaea.

Based on the image, what evidence supports the idea that continents were once joined?

4. Explain the main idea behind the theory of continental drift.

5. Pangaea means " " in Greek.

6. The process by which continents slowly move over Earth's surface is called  .

7. One piece of evidence for Pangaea is the discovery of similar   and   on continents now separated by vast oceans.

8. All continents are currently moving away from each other.

9. Continents move because of convection currents in the Earth's mantle.