Weathering, Erosion, & Deposition
The Wearing Down and Building Up of Earth
Background Knowledge:
Use your prior knowledge and the titles and pictures from the opening slide to
describe – in your own words – what we’ll be studying during the next few days.
A Look at the Cycle:
DESCRIPTION:
CAUSED BY:
WEATHERING
MECHANICAL
CHEMICAL
Freezing and thawing
Water
Release of pressure
Oxygen
Plant growth
Carbon Dioxide
Actions of animals
Living Organisms
Abrasion
Acid Rain
Student Activity: Water, Water Everywhere
Directions:
1. Fill each jar about 2/3 full of water.
2. Place two candies in each jar.
3. Allow one jar to remain on the counter.
4. Shake the other jar for 15 seconds.
5. Record your observations and answer the questions below.
Observations
Jar motion
Still
Shaken
*If the water in the jars represents two different rivers, what does the candy represent?
*What is the major difference in the environment of the two “rocks”?
*What type of weathering is modeled (Mechanical or Chemical)?
*Explain which “environment” has greater erosion and why.
Teacher Demo: The Effects of Rain
Directions:
1. Pour 150ml of acid into Beaker A.
2. Pour 150ml of water into Beaker B
3. Place one piece of chalk in the acid and one in the water.
4. Observe what happens.
Type of Liquid
Acid
Observation of Chalk
Water
* What did the acid do to the piece of chalk?
* How or where do you think this might happen in nature?
* Does what happened to the piece of chalk illustrate physical or chemical weathering?
DESCRIPTION:
CAUSED BY:
EROSION
WATER
WIND
ICE
GRAVITY
Student Activity: Gooey Grahams
Directions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Hold the graham cracker by the edges at an angle on the edge of the pie pan.
Fill the pipette with water.
Squeeze a steady stream at the top of the cracker so that the water flows down.
Record your observations. Repeat two more times, waiting about 10 seconds in between.
Complete the questions below.
Be sure to leave the area the way you found it! 
Trial
Number
Observations
1
2
3
*If the graham cracker represents the ground below, what feature in nature could the steady stream of water
represent?
*What happens to the land over time (with each additional trial)?
*What form of erosion does this station represent?
*How does this erosion affect our Earth?
DESCRIPTION
CAUSED BY:
DEPOSITION
Type of Deposition
Wind
Water
 Waves

River
Ice
Gravity
Creates
Picture