What theory states that the continents are moving?

• A. Mantle
• B. Continental Drift
• C. Plate Tectonics
• D. Core

Answer: (B)

Continents moving is the idea being tested. Continental Drift is the theory that landmasses were once joined and have slowly moved apart over time. Alfred Wegener gathered evidence like the coastlines that fit together, identical fossils found on continents separated by oceans, and matching rock formations and ancient climates across now-distant lands. This combination of clues suggests the continents themselves moved rather than just the oceans changing shape.

While plate tectonics later provided the mechanism for movement by describing how the Earth's lithosphere is split into moving plates, the question focuses on the claim that continents move, which Continental Drift directly states. The other options aren’t about continents moving: the mantle and the core are Earth’s internal layers, and plate tectonics explains the movement in a broader way rather than naming the movement of continents specifically.