Evidence of Pangea

Question

When it first formed, Earth was covered in molten rock that was constantly being bombarded by comets and other foreign bodies. As water accumulated on Earth, some of it coming from the falling comets, Earth’s outer layer began to cool and form a solid crust. This crust has constantly changed shape over hundreds of millions of years, and it will continue to as well.

Pangaea: The Supercontinent
Sometimes the crust formed continents and supercontinents, which joined together and split apart several times. The most recent supercontinent was Pangaea. Pangaea was a single, continuous land mass surrounded by a superocean known as Panthalassa. About 200 million years ago, the continents split apart a final time.

A diagram showing how Pangaea likely looked
There are several bits of evidence that show Pangaea existed. One of the most obvious is the shape of our continents today. If you look at a map of Earth, you may notice that the shapes of the continents are like puzzle pieces that look like they once fit together. This suggests that the continents broke apart from the same landmass.

The geologic record of different continents also provides evidence. For example, similar coal deposits have been found in Pennsylvania, Poland, Great Britain, and Germany. This suggests that these places all used to be much closer together. In addition, fossil records show that identical plants existed on continents that are very far apart today.

Questions
An objective summary of this text should include which of the following?

Details about where coal deposits have been found

An explanation of what Pangea was

Arguments in favor of the existence of Pangea

A description of why Pangea is so interesting to study

Answer 1

An objective summary of the text should include:

1. An explanation of what Pangea was - Pangea was the most recent supercontinent, a single, continuous landmass surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa, that split apart about 200 million years ago.

2. Arguments in favor of the existence of Pangea - Evidence supporting Pangea's existence includes the puzzle-like fit of the shapes of present-day continents, geologic similarities such as coal deposits found in places like Pennsylvania, Poland, Great Britain, and Germany, and fossil records showing identical plants on continents that are currently far apart.

While it may contain details about coal deposits, the summary should focus more broadly on the overall arguments and explanations rather than specific locations or additional descriptions of why Pangea is interesting to study.