Erosion and weathering
Make observations and measurements to provide evidence of the effects of weathering or the rate of erosion by water, ice, wind, or vegetation
What a learner can do afterwards
- Define weathering (breaking down of rock in place) and erosion (movement of broken rock/soil)
- Describe the effects of at least three agents of weathering/erosion: water, ice, wind, vegetation
- Provide evidence from observations showing how weathering or erosion has changed a landscape
The lesson
Weathering is when rock or soil breaks apart right where it sits. Erosion is when those broken pieces get carried away to a new place. Weathering starts the job. Erosion moves the pieces.
At a river bank, moving water rubs against the soil every day. Over many years, the water carries away so much soil that the bank slowly moves back. That change in the land is evidence of erosion.
Water is not the only agent. Ice cracks rock apart when it freezes inside a crack and expands. Wind blasts tiny grains of sand against rock and wears it smooth. Plant roots grow into cracks and pry the rock apart.
To find evidence of weathering or erosion, look for rounded edges, piles of loose rock, or a landscape that looks different in old photos compared to now.
Weathering breaks rock down in place, and moving water, ice, wind, or plant roots erode the pieces away, slowly changing the land.
Watch it
Where it sits
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.