Weathering and Erosion

Living Things and Regions

How do living things change their environment?

Open Ended

Before we start, write down your thoughts on how living creatures change the shape of the land or environment around them.

Categorize

Options (4)

Organize these creatures into the types of environments where they live.

Forests or Wooded areas

Underwater

Dry, hot climates

Cold, dry climates

Word Cloud

People change their environments too. What are some ways humans change the shape of the land?

Word Cloud

Weather and Earth Events can also change the environment or the land.

What are some ways weather and natural events change the surface of the Earth?

Multiple Choice

A volcanic eruption covers the land with a thick layer of rock.

Which living things are most likely to begin the process of changing the rock into soil?

• Trees, shrubs, and other large plants
• Humans, birds, and insects
• Lichens, mosses, and other pioneer species
• Cows, sheep, and other grazing animals

Multiple Choice

A scientist claims that trees affect the amount of rain that falls in a forest.

How can the scientist provide the strongest evidence for this claim?

• Conduct an experiment by removing trees from part of the forest and measuring the amount of rain in both areas.

• Ask the trees if they affect the rain
• Compare rainfall in the forest with rainfall in the desert

• Look at the color of the leaves to determine the rain amount

Labeling

How do living things change their environment?

Drag and drop to correctly match the causes of change to the effects.

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human activities

the work of termites

transpiration by plants

the remains of coral animals

the work of beavers

What are Weathering and Erosion?

Under the plants and water on Earth, there are rocks. Rocks are made of minerals. There are thousands of minerals on Earth. Only a few minerals make up most rocks, however. Different minerals give rocks different colors, shapes, sizes, and textures. Texture is how something looks and feels. Name all the colors you see on this rock wall. Which parts might feel smooth, sharp, or rough?

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A world of rocks

Kalman, B. (2009) What shapes the land? St. Catharines, Ont.: Crabtree Pub.

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New land is created, but land is also worn down and carried away. The wearing and moving of land is called erosion. Erosion changes the landscapes on Earth. Landscapes are all the parts of the Earth you can see, such as mountains. Wind, rain, rivers, ocean waves, and ice all erode, or wear away, the land on mountains, coasts, deserts, and other landscapes.

What is erosion?

​Rocks are made weak by weather. Wind, rain, snow, ice, heat, cold, and frost can all weaken rocks. This weakening is called weathering. One way that weather weakens and breaks up rocks is by heating and cooling them. In some places the weather is hot during the day and cool at night. During the day, heat makes the rocks expand, or become larger. At night, the cool air makes rocks contract, or become smaller. Growing and shrinking makes the cracks in rocks wider. Eventually, the rocks break into pieces.

What is weathering?

​Kalman, B. (2009) What shapes the land? St. Catharines, Ont.: Crabtree Pub.

Labeling

Drag and drop the descriptions of weathering and erosion to correctly match the examples.

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Wind erosion

Water erosion

Mechanical Erosion

Chemical erosion

Ice erosion

Drag and Drop

How does deforestation affect soil erosion?



Deforestation ​​

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soil erosion. Tree roots act to ​

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soil. With the trees removed wind and rain dislodge soil ​

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easily.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

increases

hold

more

Multiple Choice

Does acid rain weather rocks at a slower rate or faster rate than ordinary rain? Why?

• a faster rate, because acids are powerful agents of chemical weathering

• a faster rate, because acids are powerful agents of mechanical weathering

• a slower rate, because acids react poorly with rocks and minerals

• a slower rate, because acids usually flow quickly over rocks without changing them

In some places the ground is too steep or too rocky to soak up any water. In other places, the ground may be able to soak up some of the water from a rainfall, but not all. Rainwater that the ground cannot soak up is called runoff. Runoff trickles or flows downhill into streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Runoff saturates, or fills the land with water. It removes the thin top layer of soil and carries it away.

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Running off with the soil

​Kalman, B. (2009) What shapes the land? St. Catharines, Ont.: Crabtree Pub.

Multiple Choice

What determines the amount of runoff that flows across the land during a rainstorm?

• the ability of the ground to soak up water

• the depth and width of a river channel

• the size of a lake

• the distance of the land to the ocean