Earth Science

How are deltas formed?

• The deltas were carved out of the shoreline by the destructive force of erosion.

• The deltas were built up by the constructive force of lava hardening.

• The deltas were built up by the constructive force of sediment deposition.

• The deltas were carved out of the shoreline by the destructive force of weathering.

Which of the following processes makes mountains become rounder as they age?

• deposition

• mountain building

• volcanic eruptions

• weathering

Juanita wants to learn about the way clay swells when it is wet and shrinks when it dries. She gets a sturdy wooden box and fills it most of the way with clay. She buries a few hard-boiled eggs in the clay. Juanita pours water into the box and lets it soak into the clay. She lets the clay dry out, then she carefully removes it from the box one layer at a time. She finds that the egg shells have all been crushed.

If the eggs in Juanita's experiment represent rocks in the real world, her experiment shows how swelling clay can cause

• erosion

• frost heaves.

• deposition

• weathering.

What natural force is most likely responsible for the formation of the narrow passage through cliffs?

• Gravity moved and deposited soil.

• Flowing water eroded the soil.

• Blowing wind eroded the soil.

• Ocean waves deposited soil.

What causes a river to meander (form an "s" shape)?

• Fish carry soil and rock from one side of the river to the other.

• One side of the river receives more sunshine than the other.

• When water evaporates from the river, it takes soil from one river bank with it.

• Flowing water erodes soil from one river bank and deposits soil onto the other.

Which statement describes a process that could have created the Rainbow Bridge National Monument which looks like a rainbow of rock?

• the constructive process of weathering

• the destructive process of lava hardening

• the destructive process of weathering

• the constructive process of lava hardening

Lyle filled a glass bottle completely with water. He put the lid on tightly, then he put the water in the freezer to cool it down quickly. Lyle forgot about his water until the next day.

When Lyle took his bottle out of the freezer, all the water was frozen solid. The bottle had cracked in several places and was broken.

If water in the ground acts like water in the bottle when it freezes, how does water in the ground affect layers of rock and soil?

• It rearranges them.

• It breaks them up.

• It makes them larger.

• all of these

Many materials, such as rocks, expand (get larger) when they are heated and contract (shrink) when they are cooled. This change in size can cause cracks to form and break large rocks into smaller pieces.

In this example, what is caused by heating and cooling?

• weathering

• decay

• erosion

• earthquakes

Why is a cliff worn away the most near or under the level where the water is when hanging over an ocean?

• because the moving water is what wears away the cliff

• because changes in temperature are greater in the water

• because fish and animals who live in the water tear up the cliff

• because the cliff is softer beneath the water line

Kelly did an investigation about erosion. She used a stream table that sits at an angle. To run each test, she covered the table with soil. Then she poured one cup of water at the top of the table. The water flowed down the slope and eroded some of the soil into a container. Kelly wants to test whether silt, sand, pebbles, or rocks are the easiest to erode. What should she change each time she does the test?

• the slope of the table

• the amount of water she pours

• the color of the table

• the type of material on the table