What was unknown to scientists during Wegener’s time?
A. Mountain ranges of some continents lined up.
B. Fossils were found in many places.
C. Earth’s crust is made of plates that move.
D. The coasts of some continents fit together.
C. Earth’s crust is made of plates that move.
D. The coasts of some continents fit together.
Well, it's safe to say that during Wegener's time, scientists were clueless about the fact that the coasts of some continents fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. They probably thought Mother Earth was just getting a little sloppy with her borders. It's a good thing the concept of plate tectonics came along and cleared things up, otherwise, we might still be living in a world of continents without proper coastlines. Can you imagine the awkward beach vacations?
During Wegener's time, scientists were unaware of the concept that Earth's crust is made up of plates that move. This concept, known as plate tectonics, was not established and understood until several decades after Wegener proposed his theory of continental drift.
To determine what was unknown to scientists during Wegener's time, we need to understand who Wegener was and when he made his contributions to the field of geology.
Alfred Wegener was a German meteorologist and geophysicist who lived from 1880 to 1930. He proposed the theory of continental drift in the early 20th century. According to this theory, the continents were once joined together in a single supercontinent called Pangaea, and over time, they gradually moved apart to their current positions.
Given this context, we can now analyze the options:
A. Mountain ranges of some continents lined up.
During Wegener's time, the observation that mountain ranges on different continents lined up was one of the pieces of evidence that supported the theory of continental drift. So this option would not be unknown to scientists during Wegener's time.
B. Fossils were found in many places.
The presence of fossils on different continents that seemed to match each other was another important piece of evidence for continental drift. Thus, this option would also not be unknown to scientists during Wegener's time.
C. Earth's crust is made of plates that move.
This option refers to the concept of plate tectonics, which explains how the Earth's surface is divided into several large plates that are constantly moving. Plate tectonics became widely accepted in the 1960s and 1970s, several decades after Wegener's time. Therefore, this option would be unknown to scientists during Wegener's time.
D. The coasts of some continents fit together.
Wegener's theory of continental drift was initially supported by the observation that the coastlines of some continents seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. This evidence, known as the "fit of the continents," was one of the key points in Wegener's theory and was known to scientists during his time. Therefore, this option would also not be unknown to scientists during Wegener's time.
Based on this analysis, the correct answer would be C. Earth's crust is made of plates that move since this concept was not known to scientists during Wegener's time.