Changes to Land

What process is responsible for creating a canyon on Earth's surface?

• Erosion- wind blowing

• Physical Weathering- air warming

• Erosion- water moving

• Physical weathering- snow falling

How are physical weathering and erosion different?

• Physical weathering moves rocks by gravity, wind, water or ice. Erosion breaks down rocks by wind, water, ice, temperature change, or plants

• Physical weathering breaks down rocks by water only. Erosion moves rocks by gravity, wind, water or ice.

• Physical weathering breaks down rocks by wind, water, ice, temperature change, or plants. Erosion moves rocks by gravity, wind, water or ice.

• Physical weathering breaks down rocks by wind, water, ice, temperature change, or plants. Erosion moves rocks by water only.

Harrison is learning about how erosion and physical weathering change the surface of the earth. Harrison has taken careful notes. Which of the following describes a process that he would have written down to be classified as physical weathering?

• plants cracking rocks

• water moving rocks

• wind blowing sand

• waves moving sand

Johnny and Dylan are trying to simulate physical weathering of rock. They use a few pieces of cement to model the rock. Which of the following examples would NOT be a way for them to simulate physical weathering?

• Pour water into cracks in the cement, then freeze them so that the pieces split

• Put the pieces of cement into a jar of water and shake the jar until they see broken bits

• Heat and cool the pieces of cement until they break down into smaller pieces

• Place the pieces of cement in front of a fan and turn the fan on high so that air moves the cement pieces

Dunes are large piles of sand that shift slowly around in deserts and on beaches. What causes the dune to move from place to place?

• rushing rivers

• blowing winds

• freezing water

• weathering rock

Where is one most likely to find rocks that have become smooth and rounded?

• At bottom of the ocean

• Deep within earth

• On the top of the hill

• In a fast-moving river

Lena has been learning about processes that change Earth’s surface. Her younger brother loves to play with sidewalk chalk. One day, she sees him move a piece of red chalk back and forth, over and over, and it creates chalk dust on the ground, which is carried away by a breeze in the air. She also notices that the piece of chalk is now smaller than it was before. She cannot wait to tell her science teacher about this example as it relates to processes that change Earth’s surface. How is what her brother did with the chalk a model showing erosion of rock?

• The chalk dust is blown away by wind

• The chalk was red like some real rock

• The size of the chalk got smaller

• The chalk was broken into pieces

Florida is a coastal state that experiences powerful, destructive storms called hurricanes. During a hurricane, beaches are changed by erosion. Which statement below describes what occurs?

• Water and wind break down rocks on the beach into smaller pieces.

• Gravity pulls apart larger boulders on the beach into fragments.

• Sand is carried away from the beach by waves and wind.

• Plants roots grow through and move sediments on the beach.

The Henderson family saw a sea arch at the beach while on vacation.

How did physical weathering most likely change this landform?

• Wind broke down a large boulder over a long period of time

• Water flowed through the center of the landform

• Wind carried away pieces of the landform

• Ice moved a large chunk of the landform

Sonya is studying for her science test. She has created a concept map to describe examples of physical weathering. Which of the following examples should NOT have been included on her map and should therefore be removed?

• Temperature change

• Movement of rock by wind

• Breaking down of rock by wind

• Breaking down of rock by plants