There are two continents with an ocean between them. They have very different plants and animals on them now. However, Dr. Nwosu found fossils of the same type of organism on both continents; this type of organism lived in the same place millions of years ago. Dr. Nwosu is using the fossils as evidence to argue that these continents used to be touching. How could the continents have gotten so far apart, and about how long did it take for this to happen? summary

1 answer

Dr. Nwosu found fossils of the same type of organism on two distant continents, suggesting they were once connected. This evidence supports the theory of continental drift, where tectonic plates slowly move apart due to geological processes over millions of years. The continents likely separated due to the movement of these tectonic plates, which can occur at rates of a few centimeters per year. Overall, the process of continents drifting apart can take tens of millions to hundreds of millions of years, explaining how they became so far apart and resulted in the current distinct ecosystems on each continent.