CURRICULUM TOOL: CHANGING THE EARTH’S SURFACE
WEATHERING, EROSION, & DEPOSITION
NYS Earth Science Core Curriculum
Performance Indicator 2.1 Use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations
of weather patterns, seasonal changes, and the movements of Earth’s plates.
2.1s Weathering is the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks at or near Earth’s surface.
Soils are the result of weathering and biological activity over long periods of time.
2.1t Natural agents of erosion, generally driven by gravity, remove, transport, and deposit
weathered rock particles. Each agent of erosion produces distinctive changes in the material
that it transports and creates characteristic surface features and landscapes. In certain
erosional situations, loss of property, personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by
effective emergency preparedness.
2.1u The natural agents of erosion include:
• Streams (running water): Gradient, discharge, and channel shape influence a stream’s velocity
and the erosion and deposition of sediments. Sediments transported by streams tend to
become rounded as a result of abrasion. Stream features include V-shaped valleys, deltas,
flood plains, and meanders. A watershed is the area drained by a steam and its tributaries.
• Glaciers (moving ice): Glacial erosional processes include the formation of U-shaped valleys,
parallel scratches, and grooves in bedrock. Glacial features include moraines, drumlins, kettle
lakes, finger lakes, and outwash plains.
• Wave Action: Erosion and deposition cause changes in shoreline features,
including beaches, sandbars, and barrier islands. Wave action rounds sediments as a result of
abrasion. Waves approaching a shoreline move sand parallel to the shore within the zone of
breaking waves.
• Wind: Erosion of sediments by wind is most common in arid climates and along shorelines.
Wind-generated features include dunes and sand-blasted bedrock.
• Mass Movement: Earth materials move downslope under the influence of gravity.
2.1v Patterns of deposition result from a loss of energy within the transporting systems and
are influence by the size, shape, and density of the transported particles. Sediment
deposits may be sorted or unsorted.
2.1w Sediments of inorganic and organic origin often accumulate in depositional
environments. Sedimentary rocks form when sediments are compacted and/or cemented
after burial or as the result of chemical precipitation from seawater.
High School of Language and Innovation 2012 (draft)
Curriculum-Based Questions
 What affects the rate of weathering of a rock?
 How does gravity affect erosion?
 What are the natural agents of erosion?
 What are the different factors affecting the
deposition of sediments?
 How are weathering, erosion, and deposition
related?
 Complete one activity from the green Changing
Earth’s Surface binder.
Earth Science Reference Table pg. 6
(related pages: 1, 7, 16)
CURRICULUM TOOL: CHANGING THE EARTH’S SURFACE
WEATHERING, EROSION, & DEPOSITION
Some Past Part A Questions
1. Which agent of erosion most likely formed the drumlins and finger lakes in
New York State?
(1) running water
(3) wave action
(2) moving ice
(4) mass movement
2. Which sediment is most easily picked up and transported by the wind?
(1) cobbles
(3) sand
(2) pebbles
(4) silt
3. A river’s current carries sediments into the ocean. Which sediment size
will most likely be deposited in deeper water farthest from the shore?
(3) pebble
(3) silt
(4) sand
(4) clay
4. The map shows a meandering stream as it enters a lake. The
arrow shows the direction of stream flow. Points A through D
represent locations on the surface of the stream.
The greatest stream velocities are found
closest to points
(1) A and B
(2) B and C
(3) C and D
(4) D and A
High School of Language and Innovation 2012 (draft)
Some Past Part B-1, B-2, C Questions
August 2012 Question 57
June 2012 Questions 42-45
January 2012 Questions 46-48, 72-73
August 2011 Questions 83-84
*Released Regents Tests:
http://www.nysedregents.org/earthscience/
CURRICULUM TOOL: CHANGING THE EARTH’S SURFACE
WEATHERING, EROSION, & DEPOSITION
Readings
Holt (yellow book) Weathering:
pg. 343-348 (types), 349-352
(rates), 353-356 (soil) Erosion:
pg. 357-360 (soil), 361-362
(gravity), 379-382 (streams),
423-425 (glaciers), 445 (wind),
451-453 (waves) Deposition:
pg. 383-386 (streams), 426-430
(glaciers), 447-449 (wind), 453
(waves)
Glencoe (big blue book)
Weathering: pg. 153-158
(types) 158-161 (rates), 191203 Erosion: pg. 123, 162-165
(gravity and water), 165-166
(glaciers, wind), 167 (soil), 181188 (mass movement), 191-193
(wind), 201-202 (glaciers)
Deposition: pg. 123-124, 226
McGuire (little blue book)
Weathering: pg. 165-174 (types
and rates), 175-177 (soil)
Erosion: pg. 185-192, 275-276
(glaciers). 373-374 (mass
movements) Deposition pg.
193-198, 277-281 (glaciers)
Unison Reading Binder: Changing
the Earth’s Surface
Resources for Learning
Websites
Regents Exam Prep Center: Earth Science
http://regentsprep.org/Regents/earthsci/earthsci.cf
m
Geology: Surface Processes
http://www.hmxearthscience.com/surface_process
es.html
Weathering
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/s
ed_weathering.html&edu=high
Erosion and Transport
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/s
ed_erosion.html&edu=high
Deposition
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/s
ed_deposition.html&edu=high
Water Erosion and Deposition
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/High_School_Earth_Sci
ence/Water_Erosion_and_Deposition
Regents Review Materials
http://reviewearthscience.com/
http://regentsearth.com/
Foreign Language:
Desgaste
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/s
ed_weathering.html&edu=high&lang=sp
Deposición
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/geology/s
ed_deposition.html&edu=high&lang=sp
High School of Language and Innovation 2012 (draft)
Videos
Weathering and Erosion
http://www.unitedstreaming.com/videos/dsc/extern
alApplications/interactiveVideos/index.html?vid=32
Weathering and Erosion
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/scie
nce/rocks-minerals-landforms/weathering-anderosion.htm
Weathering and Erosion
http://schoolmediainteractive.com/view/object/clip/
6EF46CAA2D38E0EABB11A57BAFFB1753
Deposition and Erosion
http://www.unitedstreaming.com/videos/dsc/extern
alApplications/simulationses/Explorations/Content/Resources/ES_1_2_3_Erosio
n_Deposition/flash/ES_1_2_3_Erosion_Deposition.ht
ml
At home:
Erosion Characteristics
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R21W6El_vv4
Weathering and Erosion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ozKOBBUcY
Physical Weathering
www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_WN2ICRb2M
Chemical Weathering
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VnVRHIV6j4
Deposition
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqxelEQMNaU
Water Velocity Chart
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHAtv5J76FM
In-Class
Activities
Changing
Earth’s
Surface
Binder
Weathering
and Erosion
Vocabulary
Weathering
and Erosion
Memory
Deposition
Vocabulary
Deposition
Memory