Terry Lynn Weber, age 14, of Fairview, Oklahoma, for her question:

 Is it true that once the continents were connected?

Scientists have been gathering evidence to check this theory through several generations. Last year, the fossilized bones of sizable reptiles provided what may be the concluding piece of evidence to prove the theory to be a true fact. They were unearthed in Antarctica and radioactive dating proved that they lived there about 200 million years ago. Two of the fossilized skeletons belonged to the genus of carnivorous reptiles that later gave rise to the mammals. Fossils of their relatives had been found on other continents. Obviously these closely related animals did not live on lands separated by vast oceans.

A lot of other evidence suggests that the continents were once connected. For example, the Atlantic coasts suggest that Africa and the Americas once fitted together like jig saw pieces. Ancient rock formations in Antarctic match those in India and other continents. The recent fossil discoveries may provide the final proof that about 150 million years ago the major land masses broke apart from a single supercontinent.