Which scientist is associated with the theory of continental drift?

Which scientist is associated with the theory of continental drift?

• A. Darwin
• B. Wegener
• C. Curie
• D. Feynman

Answer: (B)

Continental drift is the idea that Earth’s continents have moved across its surface over geological time. The scientist most closely associated with this proposal is Alfred Wegener. He assembled a range of evidence that seemed to fit together if continents were once joined: the coastlines of continents like South America and Africa line up, similar fossil plants and animals appear on now-separated lands, mountain ranges and rock types align across oceans, and there are ancient glacier deposits in places that would have been near the poles in a single landmass. Yet Wegener couldn’t explain how the continents moved, which left many scientists skeptical for a time. That gap was later filled by the theory of plate tectonics, which shows continents ride on moving tectonic plates driven by convection in the mantle. The other figures mentioned are known for different breakthroughs—Darwin for natural selection and evolution, Curie for discoveries about radioactivity, and Feynman for advances in quantum physics.

Continental drift is the idea that Earth’s continents have moved across its surface over geological time. The scientist most closely associated with this proposal is Alfred Wegener. He assembled a range of evidence that seemed to fit together if continents were once joined: the coastlines of continents like South America and Africa line up, similar fossil plants and animals appear on now-separated lands, mountain ranges and rock types align across oceans, and there are ancient glacier deposits in places that would have been near the poles in a single landmass. Yet Wegener couldn’t explain how the continents moved, which left many scientists skeptical for a time. That gap was later filled by the theory of plate tectonics, which shows continents ride on moving tectonic plates driven by convection in the mantle. The other figures mentioned are known for different breakthroughs—Darwin for natural selection and evolution, Curie for discoveries about radioactivity, and Feynman for advances in quantum physics.