Colleen Comstock, age 13, of San Diego, Calif., for her question:

Is it true that the continents once were connected?

Human history jogged along for thousands of years and major changes came slowly. Then came the age of science, and within living memory WE entered a new world. WE are challenged to re examine the older ideas of history and to take a deeper look at the planet on which we live.

In the past, most peop1e tended to regard history as a record of conflicts and conquests among peop1es and nations. Nowadays, we see that mankind's hard struggle to  cope with the forces of nature is also a vital thread of history. Our lives depend upon the planet Earth. If we understand our planet,  we can work with it to supply our needs on a lavish scale. And someday mankind may learn Enough to control the weather and avert natural disasters.

These things depend upon our knowledge of the Earth sciences. Our age is bursting with scientific research and staggering new ideas. It takes time, however, to test the facts and assemble the new data. Many new theories are still unproved and we must be patient. One of these is the theory of Continental Drift which suggests that the separated continents once were linked together in a single land mass.

There is a great deal of evidence that millions of years ago the Earth's dry land was one massive continent in the Southern hemisphere. For some reason, the vast crustal area began to crack and the broken sections separated and gradually drifted apart through the ocean. Such a theory calls for far more knowledge of the planet and the forces that govern its crust, the oceans and the mantle below the crust.  

These important factors, of course, touch our lives in other areas. We are threatened by Earthquakes and the ocean has more control over our lives than most of us realize. It is most likely true that the continents once were joined. But to prove it, the Earth scientists first must learn a great deal more about the planet, Earth.

If the continents did separate in the remote past, perhaps they still are drifting apart. This map changing may be very slow, but it is very important to us. For it is related to the very forces that forever change the face of the Earth.

Fashions change in scientific ideas. Years ago, many scientists accepted the idea that some continents were joined. The jig saw puzzle shorelines of the Atlantic made the idea seem reasonable. Later, the idea went out of style, but masses of recent research have made it popular again. Nowadays, Most Earth scientists favor the theory of Continental Drift, although they need far more evidence to prove it.