Question

Which statements about Pangaea are true according to widely accepted theories? Check all that apply.

Pangaea existed two hundred thousand years ago.
The landmass of Pangaea split into separate continents over time.
Pangaea was discovered by Christopher Columbus.
Pangaea was surrounded by the waters of the ocean.
The coastline of Pangaea stayed consistent over time.

Answer 1

True:
- The landmass of Pangaea split into separate continents over time.
(Pangaea was a supercontinent that began breaking apart by plate tectonics in the Mesozoic, producing the continents we see today.)
- Pangaea was surrounded by the waters of the ocean.
(The supercontinent was encircled by a global ocean, often called Panthalassa.)

False:
- Pangaea existed two hundred thousand years ago.
(Pangaea existed hundreds of millions of years ago — roughly assembled by ~335 Ma and began breaking up ~175 Ma, not 200,000 years ago.)
- Pangaea was discovered by Christopher Columbus.
(The concept of Pangaea is a geologic reconstruction; modern ideas of continental drift were developed by scientists such as Alfred Wegener, not Columbus.)
- The coastline of Pangaea stayed consistent over time.
(Coastlines changed with tectonic motion and sea-level changes; they did not remain fixed.)