Pangea Lab Report

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INTRODUCTION
Germain geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegner has concocted a theory of monumental standards insisting on the existence of a continental drift. Mr. Wegner’s theory suggests that about three-hundred million years ago all of earth’s land masses were in a constant state of movement. These masses, we now know today as continents, were collided to form one supercontinent, called Pangea. This Greek word is can be translated to Pan-"all”, Gaia -"earth". In Wegner’s Pangea, Continents South America and Africa are apparently attached to Antarctica. According to the theory, the continents had drifted away from supercontinent into the Continents we have today.
EVIDENCE 1
One of the piece of evidence Wegner provided for this seemingly …show more content…

Wegner stated that he found fossils of the same species of plants and animals on different continents. Wegner believes that they could have lived in the same place if the continents had been connected in the past. Some examples of theses ancient fossils are the Mesosaurus, Lystrosaurus, Cynognathus and Glossopteris. The Mesosaurus is a crocodile-like reptile that lived about two-hundred-eighty-six million years ago. They are found solely in southern Africa and eastern South America (see MC p.115 Fig. 11.5 B). It would have been physiologically impossible for this species to swim to between the continents. This fact suggests that Africa and South America were connected at one point. This is the same for the Cynognathus, a mammal type reptile found in both Africa and South America. The Lystrosaurus, a two-hundred-fifty-year-old herbivorous reptile found in South Africa, Antarctica and India. Finally, the Glossopteris was a woody seed-bearing shrub or tree. This plant lived about three-hundred million years ago. It’s fossils were found in Australia, South Africa, India, South America and Antarctica. These ancient spices are not capable of traveling to other continents. It is evident that a supercontinent had been there for these species to live in these continents. Thus, further validating Wegner’s …show more content…

11.5 D). These ice sheets are believed to have existed about two-hundred-fifty million years ago. Wegner has observed scratches on certain rocks, which indicates an existence of ice sheets. These locations at their current positions, would never be able to have ice sheets, given their warm temperatures. Wegner’s supercontinent “Pangea” explains this event. In Wegner’s “Pangea”, these areas are all found towards the South Pole. Also, this supercontinent existed around the same time period as these sheets. Therefore, the existence of ice sheets in such unlikely areas further justifies Alfred Wegner’s “Pangea” and provides evidence that a continental drift has to have

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