Which of these pieces of evidence did not in the development of the theory of plate tectonics?
a) the outlines of the different continents look like they could fit together like puzzle pieces.
b) similar fossil evidence has been found on continents separated by great distances.
c) most earthquakes and volcanoes occur along distinct lines around the world.
d) no mountains in the world are increasing in size.

Your answer to the question would be D). No mountains in the world are increasing in size.

The pieces of evidence that did NOT help in the development of the theory of plate tectonics is no mountains in the world are increasing in size.

Theory of plate tectonics:

A theory in which the earth has "plates" that move around, which could shift the land.

Explanation:

The reason why "D). No mountains in the world are increasing in size" would be the correct answer because this does not have anything to do with the theory of plate tectonics.

This is something that does not support the theory of plate tectonics. You don't see mountains growing over time; they just stay the same size for a long time. The statement "No mountains in the world are increasing in size" has nothing to do with plate tectonics. This also doesn't support the claim on how the plate tectonics can break lands and shift them into other parts of the world.

Why the other answer choices are incorrect:

The reason why answer choice "A) The outlines of the different continents look like they could fit together like puzzle pieces" is incorrect because:

This is a piece of evidence that actually supports the theory of plat tectonics. In the theory, scientist believed that the plates that are in the earth caused the lands to shift apart, which means that the different continents use to be connected all together. Since they say that they were connected together, the outlines that look like they could connect to other lands like a puzzle proves that the earth's lands use to be together one time. This is the reason why this answer choice would be eliminated.

The reason why answer choice "B) Similar fossil evidence has been found on continents separated by great distances" is incorrect because:

This is also another evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics. This relates to the theory that all of the lands use to be connected together. Since they were connected together, species would be together in one land. But, since the plates shook and caused the lands to separate, some of the same species got separated, in which evidence shows that there were some of the same species that were separated thousands of miles away from each other. This is the reason why this answer choice would be eliminated.

The reason why answer choice "C) Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur along distinct lines around the world" is incorrect because:

This also is another evidence that supports the theory of plate tectonics.  The word "distinct" means different. In this case, the earthquakes and volcanoes that are on the earth are in different parts of the worlds, meaning that they're scattered. They believed that the volcanoes use to be near each other, but because of the split in land, the volcanoes separated into different lands across the globe. This is the reason why this answer choice would be eliminated.

-Julie

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