(i) Evidence of Movement of Continents:
(ii) Drift Theory: German meteorologist Alfred Wegener suggested the first comprehensive theory of continental drift in 1912. According to Wegener, all the continents formed a single continental mass and mega ocean named Tethys surrounded the same. He argued that around 200 million years ago, the super continent, Pangaea, began to split into two large continental masses as Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Subsequently, Laurasia and Gondwanaland continued to break into various smaller continents that exist today. The continents assumed a shape somewhat similar to the present shape in the Pleistocene Age about 50-60 million years ago.
(i) Wegener suggested that two forces were responsible for continental drift. These are Polar fleeing force and Tidal force. The Polar fleeing force is related to the rotation of the earth. The Tidal force is due to the attraction of the moon and the sun, which causes tides in the oceans.
(i) (c) Abraham Ortelius
(ii) (c) Rotation of the earth
(iii) (d) Antarctica
(iv) (c) Distribution of fossils in different continents.
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