Question

Which of the following provide evidence that South America, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia were once together as one supercontinent? Select the three correct answers.
Responses

Icy glaciers covered South America, Africa, Antarctica, and Australia as one supercontinent over the North Pole.

Cratons match across the edges of continents.


Vast deposits of coal formed in regions with ancient deserts.

Fossils of marsupials were originally the same across South America and Australia.

Glacial deposits and scratches in the bedrock from an ice sheet match in distant regions.

Mountain chains match up where South America collided with Australia to form Pangaea.

Answer 1

Correct answers:

- Cratons match across the edges of continents.
(Matching ancient continental cores and rock types across continental margins supports they were once joined.)

- Fossils of marsupials were originally the same across South America and Australia.
(Shared fossil taxa across now-distant continents indicate they were connected as Gondwana.)

- Glacial deposits and scratches in the bedrock from an ice sheet match in distant regions.
(Similar glacial till and striation patterns across separate continents show a single ice sheet when the landmasses were joined.)

Why the others are wrong, briefly:
- "Icy glaciers ... over the North Pole" is incorrect because the relevant glaciation was centered on the South Pole (Gondwana), and the statement's pole is wrong.
- "Vast deposits of coal formed in regions with ancient deserts" is wrong because coal forms in wet, swampy environments, not deserts.
- The mountain-chain statement is incorrect in its specific pairing (South America did not collide with Australia that way).