Rocks, Weathering, Erosion and Soil

A farmer has a steeply sloping pasture that is eroding. Which is the BEST option to stop the immediate erosion of the topsoil?

• Increase the amount of vegetation on the sloping pasture.

• Plant trees and shrubs at the bottom of the sloping pasture.

• Increase the soil thickness by adding five inches of sandy soil.

• Increase the organic content of the topsoil by adding earthworms.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-3

In a particular region, abundant growth of grasses covers the flat land surface. If overgrazing removes most of this vegetation, which weather phenomenon is MOST likely to occur?

• hail storms
• rain storms
• dust storms
• snow storms

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

Rocks can be classified many different ways, including as igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. This classification is based on the

• origin of the rocks.

• use of the rocks.

• size of the rocks.

• hardness of the rocks.

The sediments found in a riverbed are MOST likely a result of which action on nearby rock?

• heat

• faulting

• pressure

• weathering

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Most sedimentary rock is made from sediments of other rock. Which of these processes would the sediments MOST likely go through to form sedimentary rock?

• compaction and cementation

• folding and recrystallization

• melting and solidifying

• heating and pressure

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

A rock formation in a land area contains fossils. Over time, tremendous heat and pressurechange the formation to produce a harder rock formation without fossils. Which change in rock type has occurred in this land area?

• Igneous rock has turned into sedimentary rock.
• Igneous rock has turned into metamorphic rock.
• Sedimentary rock has turned into igneous rock.
• Sedimentary rock has turned into metamorphic rock.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Why are fossils rarely found in metamorphic or igneous rock?

• Chemicals toxic to living organisms are released during formation of these rocks.

• Heat and pressure are great enough to destroy the structure of fossils found in these rocks.

• Decay of radioactive isotopes changes the fossils into a different rock structure.

• Intense magnetic fields found where these rocks form keep organisms from living there.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

What is the name of the process in which igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks are converted into one another in stages?

• rock cycle
• erosion cycle
• magma cycle
• tectonic cycle

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

Marta was studying a diagram of the rock cycle. She wanted to know what could cause a sedimentary rock to become a metamorphic rock. Which processes must occur in order for a sedimentary rock to change into a metamorphic rock?

• compaction and cementation
• heating and pressure
• melting and cooling
• uplift and erosion

Coal is solid rock that began as organic material that was deposited in a swamp. The formation of coal suggests that

• coal is made mostly of skeletal remains of animals.

• coal is formed from magma that has solidified over time.

• it quickly becomes petrified when water is removed.

• geologic processes continue over millions of years.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2