The African and South American Continents Are Separating at a Rate

question 98

Multiple Choice

The African and South American continents are separating at a rate of about 3 cm per year, according to the ideas of plate tectonics. If they are now 5000 km apart and have moved at a constant speed over this time, how long is it since they were in contact?

• A) 1.7 million years
• B) 170 million years
• C) 170 thousand years
• D) 1.7 billion years

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Definitions:

January 1 Retained Earnings

The amount of earnings retained in a company as of the beginning of the fiscal year, not distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends.

Equity Method

An accounting technique used by firms to assess the profits earned by their investments in other companies by reporting these profits as income.

Intra-entity Gross Profit

The profit recognized on transactions carried out between divisions or departments within the same company.

January 1 Retained Earnings

The amount of net income left over for a business at the start of a new calendar year after all dividends have been paid out to shareholders.