Question

Plate tectonic theory states that the continents move around on the earth's crust, drifting in response to forces within the earth's mantle. What generalization would be true if plate tectonic theory is accurate?

Dinosaur fossils can be found on all of the earth's continents in approximately equal proportions.

All of the continents have organisms with similar adaptations living in similar environments.

Animals located throughout the continents could have evolved from a single common ancestor.

Fossils of the same species can be found on different continents that are separate

Answer 1

Do you have an inclinations to an answer?
You can eliminate some simply because they're too extreme - using the word 'all' makes for a condition that's waay to precise to be true.

Answer 2

A, C & D are true. B is wrong because now the continents have moved, climates have changed and so environments have changed

Answer 3

Since a major "theory" of modern biology is evolution, and furthermore that all organisms are descended from a common ancestor ultimately, C is definitely true.

D is true, provided that the species pre-exists the date of separation of the land masses, in the absence of some kind of over-water migration like with Darwin's finches.

I disagree with @best.shakir that B is wrong. Comparison of Australasia (or whatever they call it now) shows many marsupials with similar adaptations to mammals in other locales.

I'd have to look but I guess that A is probably not very accurate. On the other hand, that does not argue against tectonic theory because fossilization is a very uncommon result, basically you have to drop dead in a mud flat, so it is variable from place to place and time to time.

Answer 4

Best bet is to look at what is not true first. The first answer cannot be correct because it implies that all of the continents have dinosaur fossils in equal proportion. While some areas are rich in fossils every area should be too, but others are not. B cannot be correct either because each species of animal that lives in different niches will have different traits adapted for that environment. We also know that not all of the niches on the planet are the same. All animals did not evolve from a single type of animal, this is why there are mammals, reptiles, etc. We would need to share some of the traits of the previous ancestor, however minimal, that we do not.

The last answer is true. Due to continental shifts and erosion animals can die in a single land mass that may be divided later. So Fossil A may appear in Alaska and Russia because these two were joined at one time, but were separated by water and drift.

Here is also an excellent article on some of this subject.

http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL107/PTect.html