Unit 3 Science Review

Unit 3 Review

What can break a boulder?

●The process of rock breaking apart is called weathering. Many different things
can cause weathering. Gravity can cause rocks to fall down a cliff and break rocks
below. Flowing water can cause rocks to tumble and scrape against rocks in the
riverbed. Sand blown by wind can scrape against rocks.

●Living things can also cause weathering. A tree’s roots can grow in small crack in a
rock. As the roots grow, it can push the rock apart until the rock breaks.

●Chemicals in water and rain rain that flow through and around rocks can also cause
weathering. These chemicals can combine with the rock and change it so that it
crumbles and wears away.

Multiple Choice

The process of the wearing away or breaking down of larger pieces of rock into smaller pieces is called weathering. Weathering may be due to the effects of wind, water, ice, temperature, or the activities of plants and animals. The process of weathering is slow but is continuously occurring. It affects rocks that are in motion and rocks that are not. Rocks may be weathered in different ways based on their location and the cause of the weathering. Careful observation of rocks can determine the forces of weather acting upon them. For instance, weathering caused by plants can be seen in cracks in the rocks that get larger as the plant grows.

According to the passage, weathering that was caused by plants can be seen in rock cracks that grow larger as the plant grows. How do plants cause the weathering of rocks?

• through photosynthesis as sunlight is combined with water and carbon dioxide to create food

• through the release of water vapor and oxygen by transpiration and gas exchange

• through chemicals that seep into rocks as leaves fall from the plant and decay

• through the root growth of plants as roots lengthen and expand to reach water and nutrients

Multiple Choice

A student views a picture of the Appalachian Mountains. The student claims the mountains were formed by a constructive process.

Which statement best evaluates the student's claim?

• The student's claim is correct because wind deposited rock and soil into valleys, causing them to build up over time.

• The student's claim is correct because Earth's plates collided, forcing one part under another and then pushing upward.

• The student's claim is incorrect because volcanoes erupted for long periods of time, creating rock from the cooling magma.

• The student's claim is incorrect because flowing rivers and streams carved into the soil, depositing tall layers of rock.

Rocks on the Move

●The process of moving weathered rock from one place to another is called erosion.

●Moving water is one of the most common causes of erosion. Together with gravity, water
can cause the rocks to move downhill.

●The water pulls the larger pieces of weathered rock along the river’s bottom. As the
water slows down, it has less energy. It cannot move the largest rocks and pebbles.
These are left behind as the water moves on.

●The dropping of weathered rock by wind or moving water is known as deposition.

●Small pieces of sand and silt are called sediment.

Multiple Choice

The process that transport rocks, soils, and sediments to a different location is called __________.

• Deposition

• Weathering

• Erosion

• Constructive force

Multiple Choice

The picture shows a mountain that experienced a landslide. What observation can be made from the picture?

• A landslide is a destructive process because it causes part of Earth's surface is broken down into smaller pieces of rock and soil.

• A landslide is a destructive process because it causes pieces of rock and soil to completely disappear from Earth's surface

• A landslide is a constructive process because it creates mountains of rock and soil on Earth's surface.

• A landslide is a constructive process because it adds new features to Earth's surface made from rock and soil.

Rocks on the Move Continued...

●When rivers reach the ocean, they slow down even more. As they slow down, much of the
remaining sediment in the water is dropped.

●Over time, the sediment piles up near the mouth of the river. It forms a landform called
a delta.

Blowing in the Wind

●A landform is a natural land shape or feature.

●Weathering and erosion by wind changes landforms. Wind can carry particles of
sediment from place to place.

●When the wind deposits a lot of sand in one area, sand dunes form. Sand dunes are often
found near sandy beaches, but dunes also form far from the ocean. The dunes of some
deserts span hundreds of kilometers.

●The shape of a sand dune constantly changes.

Blowing in the Wind Continued…

●Blowing sediment can also cause changes to other landforms. Particles carried by wind
collide with exposed rock and cause weathering. Exposed rock can slowly erode, leaving
interesting shapes.

●Mushroom rocks and arches are formed by water, but shaped by the wind. Eventually,
gravity pulls these formations to the ground.

Multiple Select

What surface features are created by a process that extends over a long period of time? Choose 2 correct answers.

• sand dunes

• mountains

• canyons

• earthquakes

• landslides

Multiple Choice

Ezra creates a model for science class. He uses a box filled evenly with sand. He turns on a hair dryer and blows air at the model for one minute. The pictures show his model.

Which best describes what Ezra's model is designed to show?

• The formation of a mountain through wind erosion.

• The creation of a dune through wind deposition.

• The formation of a delta through wind erosion.

• The creation of an island through wind deposition.

Ice Carvings

●Huge sheets of ice are called glaciers. Glaciers are found in very cold places. Gravity
pulls glaciers downhill. The ice flows like a very slow river. As a glacier flows, it picks up
the rocks and soil beneath it. A glacier can pick up rocks as big as school buses!

●As a glacier moves forward, it pushes boulders against the ground below. They can carve
deep grooves into rock.

Can Waves Cut Caves?

●A flowing river picks up sediment along its path. The rushing sediment scrapes against
the bottom and sides of the riverbed. This weathers the material along the river’s path
even more.

●River water can carve deep canyons. A canyon is a gorge between cliffs of rock.

●Curves in a river’s path change over time and produce different landforms.

●Ocean waves crash forcefully into rocks along the shore. The waves weather cliffs,
erode away pieces of broken rock, and deposit the sediment in new places.

●The sediment from eroding shorelines become fine particles of sand. Beaches form
where the sand is deposited at the water’s edge.

Multiple Choice

Which human intervention should be used in an area prone to flooding?

• studies to monitor the effects of volcanoes on flooding

• building deltas to hold back flood waters

• storm drain management to redirect water

• digging wells to hold excess water

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the process of beach restoration?

• Prevents flooding

• Allowing sand to be deposited back on the beach naturally

• Moving current sand from one beach to another

• Replacing sand on the beach

Multiple Choice

Which instructions would best help a student to model the formation of sand dunes?

• Materials: powder, hair dryer, tray

  Procedure: Use the hair dryer to blow the powder around inside the tray to represent sand being deposited by wind.

• Materials: water, clay, spoon, sediments Procedure: Carve a channel in the clay with the spoon and pour water with sediments into the channel to represent sand being deposited by water.

• Materials: ice block, hair dryer, bowl Procedure: Use the hair dryer to blow warm air at the ice block to represent sand being eroded by wind.

• Materials: vinegar, chalk, bowl, water dropper Procedure: Add vinegar drops to the piece of chalk in a bowl to represent a mountain being weathered into sand by water.

Inside the Earth

●Mantle- Largest portion of the Earth’s interior

●Outer Core- made of molten metal

●Inner Core- made of solid iron and nickel

●Crust- the rigid rock layer

Multiple Choice

Mount Arenal, a volcano in Costa Rica, is erupting. Heat is being released during the eruption. The source of the heat is

• molten rock inside the Earth

• fossil fuels

• the sun

• underground water

Plate Tectonics

●Earth’s crust is a hard shell of rock, but it is not one solid piece. Many pieces of crust,
called plates, fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. The plates rest on the Earth’s mantle.
The motion of Earth’s plates is very slow. Too slow to see.

●The theory that Earth’s crust is divided into plates that are always moving is called
plate tectonics.

●Some plates contain mostly continental crust, while others contain mostly oceanic crust.
Many plates are made of a combination of the two.

Transform Boundary

●Two plates can slide sideways past each other. Earthquakes occur often at these
boundaries. At the San Andreas Fault in California, the North American plate is moving
southward, and the Pacific plate is moving northward.

Divergent Boundary

●Two plates can move away from each other. On land this forms a rift, or separation.
Iceland sits across the separating boundary between the North American plate and the
Eurasian plate. It will eventually become two separate land masses.

Convergent Boundary

●As two continental plates move together, their edges fold and bend, pushing up mountain
ranges. The Himalaya Range in Asia includes the world’s highest mountain peaks. The
Himalayas are still growing today as the Indo-Australian plate pushes against the
Eurasian plate.

Multiple Choice

A ______________ is where two or more tectonic plates meet and show movement.

• fault

• plate

• glacier

• sediment

Earthquakes

●A fault is a break in Earth’s crust where rock on one side can move in relation to rock on
the other side. As plates move, pressure builds up along the fault. When the pressure
becomes too great, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly snaps free and slides past
the rock on the other side. This release of energy and shaking of the ground is called an
earthquake.

●The point inside the Earth where an earthquake begins is called the focus. The energy
travels away from the focus in waves. When the energy reaches the surface, the ground
shakes. The point on Earth’s surface directly above the focus is called the epicenter.
Earthquake motion is most severe at the epicenter.

Earthquakes continued...

●Scientists can use a seismograph to predict if an earthquake is going to happen.

●Earthquakes can not be prevented.

●Earthquakes can be dramatic and can cause great damage to built structures.

●A richter scale measures the magnitude of earthquakes on a scale from 1 to 10. The
scale uses the size of waves on a seismograph to determine an earthquake’s strength. A
measure of 1 is low and a measure of 10 is very very high. An earthquake measuring 6.0
or higher on the Richter scale can cause heavy damage in populated areas.

Multiple Choice

Do earthquakes occur underwater?

• Yes, but they have no effect on ocean water.

• No, earthquakes only occur on land.

• Yes, and they can cause a tsunami to occur

• No, only volcanoes occur underwater.

Multiple Select

Which questions would scientists ask when designing technology in the field of earthquakes? Select 2.

• Where and how do Earth's tectonic plates move?

• How can materials be designed to resist erosion?

• How can materials withstand high temperatures?

• How can seismology be studied to save lives and property?

Multiple Choice

Earthquakes can cause a (n)______________, which can destroy homes.

• aftershock

• tsunami

• earthquake

• all of the above

Multiple Choice

Scientists use the Richter Scale to determine the _______________ of an earthquake.

• distance

• magnitude

• time

• epicenter

Multiple Choice

The picture shows a seismograph during an earthquake.

What question can scientists learn from this seismograph?

• How deep is the earthquake?

• How far away will the earthquake travel?

• How strong is the earthquake?

• How much damage will the earthquake cause?

Volcanoes

●The liquid rock below Earth’s crust is called magma.

●At boundaries where plates are either moving toward each other, pulling away from each
other, or at hotspots in the middle of plates, openings in the crust can occur.

●A volcano is an opening that allows magma to reach Earth’s surface.

●Lava is the molten rock that erupts from the volcano along with ash and hot gases.

Vocabulary Check

●Epicenter- The strongest surface point of an earthquake

●Fault- a break in the crust where rock can slide past other rock

●Earthquake- shaking ground at a moving fault

●Focus- The point where an earthquake begins

●Deltas, Canyons, and Caves are all parts of Earth’s crust.