Weathering Erosion and Soil

Soil is a combination of rocks that have been weathered to small pieces and organic matter. Select two examples of chemical weathering that break up big rocks into smaller pieces for soil.

• acid rain causes cracks in large rocks

• wind blasts sand at bigger rocks

• a mole breaks up small rocks as it digs

• plant roots widen cracks in rocks

• a waterfall dissolves small pieces of mineral

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Soil is made of many things, including tiny particles of rock. Which is one way rocks are broken down into rock particles?

• Molecules of water that are superheated inside of rocks can build up pressure that breaks rocks into rock particles.

• Radiation from sunlight creates tons of tiny cracks in the rock, which expand until they break.

• Molecules of water that freeze inside rocks can expand and break rocks into rock particles.

• Oxygen from the atmosphere gets absorbed by the rock, which expands until it breaks.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

Madison creates the model shown of a stream bed. She wants to demonstrate how natural processes can change the surface of Earth through deposition and erosion. She pours water on her model and makes observations. In which situation will more deposition than erosion occur in Madison's stream bed model?

• More deposition will occur if the slope of the stream increases.

• More deposition will occur if sediment in the stream decreases.

• More deposition will occur if sediment in the stream increases.

• More deposition will occur if the speed of the stream water decreases.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Based on the diagram, structure X is

• a delta that is changing due to sediment deposits from ocean currents.

• an island that is changing due to the movement of plate boundaries.

• a delta that is changing due to sediment deposits from a river.

• an island that is changing due to increasing volcanic lava flow.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

How does erosion compare to physical weathering?

• Both break down materials.

• Erosion breaks down materials, and weathering carries them from place to place.

• Weathering breaks down materials, and erosion carries them from place to place.

• Both move materials from place to place.

Peyton created a model and chart of a soil horizon to present to his science class. Which statement best explains a mistake in Peyton's presentation?

• Layer O should not have any living materials.

• Layer A should be a light color from the humus.

• Layer B should be darker because of the clay.

• Layer C should not contain grass roots.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

The picture shows the Marble Canyon, a section of the Grand Canyon. What formed this canyon?

• the rushing movement of water from a river over millions of years, showing evidence of one way Earth's landscape has naturally evolved

• the subduction of plate boundaries, showing how the movement of plate boundaries is the only way that Earth's landscape evolves over time

• the movement of ice along Earth's surface, showing that Earth's surface did not change until ice was present

• the rapid evaporation of the river over a short period of time, showing how adaptive Earth's surface is when the environment changes

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

The diagrams  shows a natural process that weathers rock.
 Which statement best explains why this process results in weathering?

• frozen water acts as a solute

• water expands when it freezes

• the mass of water increases when it freezes

• frozen water dissolves most types of rock

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-2

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

When rocks are broken down into smaller pieces

• erosion

• weathering

• sediment

When water, ice and wind move particles of rock and soil from one place to another

• sediment

• weathering

• erosion

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4