Wind & Water
This process occurs when flowing water or blowing air picks up and moves small particles away from their original location.
Erosion (movement of sediment by wind or water).
A large mass of ice that flows slowly over land and transports sediment is called a ____.
Glacier
This type of weathering breaks rocks into smaller pieces without changing their chemical composition.
Physical (mechanical) weathering.
What single word describes the dropping or laying down of eroded material?
Deposition
Name two landforms or features formed primarily by water action listed in the materials (from the beach/stream/rivers section).
Example answers: Beaches shaped by waves; river valleys/canyons formed by rivers; deltas at river mouths.
Describe how glaciers act like a “conveyor belt” — what two things do they do to sediment and rocks?
They erode (pluck and abrade rock) and transport/deposit sediment (including large boulders) far from source.
This type of weathering changes the minerals in a rock and can weaken or dissolve rock material (example: oxidation or acid rain).
Chemical weathering (e.g., oxidation, acid precipitation).
Describe how energy (name two sources) drives weathering and erosion.
Energy sources: gravity and the Sun (solar heating causing wind and water movement).
During a storm, sand is eroded from a beach at a rate of 2 cubic meters per hour. Write the equation that represents the remaining volume of sand, c, after h hours if the beach started with bb cubic meters. (Use +, −, ×, or ÷.)
c=b−2h
Explain two ways gravity contributes to erosion and deposition (use examples from landslides and waterfalls).
Gravity pulls water downhill (creating rivers, waterfalls) and causes rockfalls/landslides where slope stability is lost; it also causes sediments to settle when agents slow.
Give one real-life example (from the documents) of a plant or animal contributing to weathering and explain which type (physical or chemical) it represents.
Example: Plant roots growing into cracks (physical weathering); lichens producing acids that dissolve minerals (chemical weathering).
Name a event: Compare a “fast change that affects a small area” with a “slow change that affects a large area” and give one example of each from the materials.
Fast/small: rock falling and breaking apart — happens quickly and locally (e.g., rockfall). Slow/large: river erosion carving a canyon over millions of years.
Using the equation c=b-2h, if the starting volume is 1,278 cubic meters, what will the volume be after 24 hours of erosion? Show your calculation.
Calculation: c=1278−2(24)=1278−48=1230
Look at a coastal horizontal rock ledge that is collapsing. Which of these agents could contribute to the collapse? Select all that apply: wind, water, ice, gravity.
(wind, water, gravity) — ice less likely on a coastal ledge unless in a cold climate or with freeze-thaw; but include ice if evidence supports freezing.
Explain why rocks in cold climates are more likely to experience physical weathering, while warm, wet climates favor chemical weathering.
Cold climates: repeated freezing/thawing causes cracks (physical). Warm, wet climates: increased chemical reaction rates and more water for reactions (chemical).
Using the flood-model scenario: how could repeated flooding cause large quartzite rocks from Idaho to appear in Washington and Oregon? (Short explanation tying deposition and transport to the map/photos model.)
Floods can mobilize large volumes of water that pick up and carry large rocks downstream; repeated floods deposit those large quartzite rocks where water speed decreases, explaining their presence far from origin.
Explain how waves, rivers, and deltas each change the coastline or river mouth (give one mechanism for each).
Waves: erode cliffs and move sand along shore (longshore drift). Rivers: erode banks and transport sediment downstream, carving valleys. Deltas: deposit sediment where river meets standing water, building new land.
For the same collapsing ledge, explain specifically how wind, water, ice, and gravity would each contribute to causing the ledge to fail (one sentence per agent)
Wind = lifts and abrades small particles, undercutting edges; Water = waves and spray erode and undermine rock, dissolve soluble minerals; Ice = freeze–thaw widens cracks and pries loose pieces; Gravity = pulls weakened rock downward causing collapse.
Which plants contribute to weak acid precipitation upon rock faces? Identify plant and weathering type.
Moss ; Chemical Weathering
Consider Mesa Verde Canyon: predict and sketch (describe in words) how continued water flow could change the canyon in 1 million years. Include at least two features you expect to grow or shrink.
Expected changes: canyon will widen and deepen; cliffs will erode and narrow; river channel may meander and migrate; terraces and wider floodplains may form as sediment is deposited. (Teacher can ask students to sketch showing deeper channel, broader valley, and more rounded cliff edges.)