Answer the assignment questions using the World Geology map in this lesson and/or the earth's lithospheric plates map in the assignment document. You can also do an Internet keyword search for U. S. Geological Survey Plates of the Earth Map to find some really good images that can be used as a reference for this assignment. 1. Wegener formed the theory of continental drift in 1912. What prevented research of the ocean floor, paleomagnetism, and earthquakes at that time?

2. If many different observations can all be explained by the same theory, does that make the theory true? Does it make the theory more likely? Explain your answer.

3. What evidence is there to suggest that the Earth is composed of tectonic plates?

4. What evidence is there to suggest that tectonic plates move?

5. Select Topography and Major Plates on the World Geology map. Describe the topography at the boundaries between the following pairs of plates: South American and Nazca, Indian and Eurasian, and Pacific and North American.

6. Observe the border between the Indian plate and the Somali plate. Do you see the same landforms as at the boundary between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate? Explain.

7. Select Earthquakes and Major Plates on the World Geology map and observe earthquake activity around the South American plate. Based on your observations, what can you conclude about lithospheric motion of the South American plate with the Nazca plate and the African plate? Explain your answer.

8. How certain do you feel that the theory of plate tectonics is correct? What evidence would you use to support your opinion?