Fast and Slow Land Changes Stemscopes

Which of these happens the fastest?

• A volcano erupting

• A glacier moving

• A mountain forming

• A lake drying up

Izzy notices that many of the rocks in the bottom of a river are smooth. How long did it take for the water to make the texture of the rocks smooth?

• A few hours

• A couple days

• Several months

• Many years

Tags

NGSS.4-ESS2-1

Students are asked to describe how changes happen on Earth. Which student gave the best answer?

• Abby said that all changes take millions of years.

• Greta said that changes usually take only a few minutes.

• Simon said that some changes are fast and some changes are slow.

• Gustavo said that most changes happen too fast to see.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Kyle visited a canyon on vacation. He learned that a river made this very deep canyon. How long did it take for the canyon to form?

• A few minutes

• Several hours

• Weeks and weeks

• Many years

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Raul is looking at a big mountain. How long does it take a mountain to form?

• Overnight

• About a day

• Thousands of years

• About a week

Students are filling in a chart about changes to land. Students think of another change: lava flowing from a volcano. Where is the best place for them to write this change?

• Minutes

• Weeks

• Months

• Years

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Which of these will make the fastest change?

• Gentle winds

• Warm sunshine

• Strong storms

• Small clouds

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-5

Jazmine is building a sand castle at the beach. She builds the sand castle next to the ocean water. How long will the sand castle stay up until the ocean waves cause it to fall down?

• An hour or two

• A few weeks

• Several months

• Many years

Tags

NGSS.4-ESS2-1

Ramon and his father are driving. His father stops the car because there is a big hole in the middle of the road that wasn’t there yesterday. Ramon’s father explains that it is a sinkhole. How does Ramon know that sinkholes can form quickly?

• The sinkhole was not there yesterday.

• He could see it from the car.

• Ramon and his father both saw it.

• It formed in the middle of the road.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Which of these would most likely take the longest period of time to change the land?

• Hurricane

• Earthquake

• Volcanic eruption

• Ocean waves

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2