Answer:
The theory of continental drift, first proposed by Alfred Wegener in the early 20th century, suggests that the Earth's continents were once joined together as a single landmass called Pangaea, which gradually broke apart and drifted to their current positions over millions of years.
Plate movements, which are driven by the movement of molten rock beneath the Earth's crust, are responsible for both the creation and destruction of crust on the Earth's surface. When two plates move apart, molten rock rises from the mantle and cools to form new crust. This process, known as seafloor spreading, is responsible for the creation of new crust on the ocean floor.
Conversely, when two plates collide, one plate may be forced beneath the other and into the mantle, a process known as subduction. This can result in the destruction of crust on the Earth's surface.
The processes of seafloor spreading and subduction support the theory of continental drift because they provide a mechanism by which the Earth's continents could have drifted apart and moved to their current positions. As new crust is created at mid-ocean ridges and old crust is destroyed at subduction zones, the plates carrying the continents are dragged along and gradually move away from each other.
Therefore, plate tectonics provides a physical mechanism that supports the theory of continental drift, and the two theories are closely interconnected.
Step-by-step explanation: