Question

1 alfred wegener was a brilliant meteorologist who had completed respected polar research in greenland. yet when he proposed a groundbreaking theory, it was met with strong opposition. in 1911, wegener had noticed a scientific paper identifying fossils found on opposite sides of the atlantic. although separated by an ocean, the fossils proved to be remains of identical plant and animal species. these findings prompted wegener to examine maps, pondering the western coastline of africa seemed to correspond to the eastern coastline of south america as if they once had fit together. as wegener studied the shapes of the other continents and encountered additional cases of identical species divided by oceans, he developed a pioneering idea. he fearlessly suggested that all of the continents had been united in one supercontinent 300 million years ago. wegener gave the name pangaea (meaning \all lands\) to this ancient supercontinent. he believed that the gigantic landmass had broken into pieces that slowly moved apart, forming the continents.
2 wegeners continental drift theory was revolutionary. however, his idea was greeted with hostility and ridicule by most researchers. geologists viewed wegener as an outsider intruding on their academic territory. more importantly, the closed-minded scientists were already wedded to a rival explanation for the similarities in species on continents separated by oceans. scholars at the time explained such similarities by arguing that land bridges had once linked distant continents. resistant researchers also pointed out that wegener did not have a full explanation for how the continents had moved. did they simply plow through the oceanic crust?
3 wegeners idea did not gain wide acceptance until the 1950s. when scientists analyzed the magnetic minerals in ancient rocks, they found powerful evidence for the continental drift theory. these minerals act like compasses matching up to the earths magnetic field lines.
what is the authors main purpose in paragraph 2 of the passage?
○ to prove that existing scientific theories did not explain continental drift
○ to explain that other scientists did not welcome wegeners ideas
○ to suggest that wegeners theory about continental drift was incomplete
○ to show that wegeners theory about continental drift was new for the time

Explanation:

Paragraph 2 states Wegener's theory was greeted with "hostility and ridicule by most researchers", notes geologists saw him as an outsider, and details how scientists clung to rival explanations and criticized his incomplete evidence—all focused on the scientific community's rejection of his ideas.

Answer:

to explain that other scientists did not welcome Wegener's ideas