Which of the following are the evidences of the phenomenon of continental drift?

Answer: (c) I, II and III

Matching rocks, gold without a local source, and shared Gondwana sediments all point to one thing — the continents were once joined.

Statement by statement

1. ✓ CORRECT Rocks about 2 billion years old on the Brazil coast match those of West Africa — they formed side by side (NCERT).

2. ✓ CORRECT Ghana has gold but no source rock for it; the source rock sits in Brazil. They were one landmass when the gold was laid down.

3. ✓ CORRECT The same Gondwana sediments turn up in Africa, Madagascar, Antarctica, the Falklands, Australia and South America.

The idea

Continental drift is tested by evidence that becomes easier to explain when separated continents are put back together. Matching old rock belts, ancient glacial deposits and land-organism fossils can preserve a shared history. Present-day climate alone is a much weaker clue.

Restore the former positions of continents → Bring facing continental margins together → Compare the ages and structure of rock belts → Compare ancient deposits and fossils → Find patterns continuing across the join

Why the others are wrong

(a) Drops the Ghana gold because it sounds too specific. It is NCERT’s own example: gold in Ghana, but its source rock in Brazil.

(b) Drops the Gondwana sediments, thinking Gondwana is only an Indian rock system. The same sequence occurs on six southern landmasses.

(d) Drops the Brazil–West Africa rocks — the strongest evidence of all: same-age rocks on facing coasts.

The trap

Statement II sounds too specific to be true. It is lifted straight from NCERT’s list of evidence.

Also know

Mesosaurus fossils link southern Africa and South America; Glossopteris fossils occur across former Gondwana lands. Tillite is rock made from glacial deposits. Wegener used these clues to argue for movement, while sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics later supplied a stronger explanation of how continents move.