Final answer:
Alfred Wegener had several pieces of supporting evidence for his theory of continental drift. However, his theory was ultimately rejected because he did not have a well-developed hypothesis to explain the mechanism behind continental drift.
Step-by-step explanation:
Alfred Wegener had several pieces of supporting evidence for his theory of continental drift. First, he noticed that the continents appeared to fit together like puzzle pieces, suggesting that they were once connected. Second, he observed that there were matching fossils found on continents that were separated by oceans, indicating that these continents were once joined. Third, he found matching mountain ranges on continents that were separated by oceans, further supporting the idea of continental drift. Lastly, he discovered paleoclimate evidence, such as the presence of tropical plant fossils in polar regions, which indicated that continents had moved in the past.
However, Wegener's theory was ultimately rejected because he did not have a well-developed hypothesis to explain the mechanism behind continental drift. He could not explain how solid continents could drift over thousands of miles. It wasn't until the development of plate tectonics in the 1960s that his ideas were expanded upon and better supported.