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It’s All Down Hill!
Vocabulary, Instructions, & Student Investigation Sheet:
Human impact: Possible adverse (negative) effects caused by humans and the
development of land.
Deforestation: The act or result of cutting down or burning all the trees in an area.
Urbanization: Taking on the characteristics of a city (buildings, roads, parking lots,
dams and general man-made structures.
Erosion: Erosion is the process in which the Earth is worn away and transported from
one place to another.
Weathering:The process in which rock is broken down. This process occurs in three
different ways:
1. Chemical: The effect of weathering on molecules and atoms (ex. Acid
precipitation)
2. Mechanical: The process of breaking big rocks into little ones (ex. Ice wedging)
3. Physical (biological): The effect of animals and plants on the landscape. This
is more than roots digging in and wedging rocks. Biological weathering is the
actual molecular breakdown of minerals.
Mud/Land Slide: Landslides take place when dirt, pebbles, rocks and boulders slide
down a slope together.
Gravity: The force which tends to make weathered materials go downhill. Gravity,
water, wind, or ice, can allow for the transportation or movement of material across the
Earth's surface.
Notes:
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Instructions: Carefully follow each step and work with your groups to complete the
investigation. You will be working together, but every student is responsible for completing and
turning in their own packet. NOTE: Safety goggles should be worn at all times!
Investigation: A
http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/
Step: 1) Recall: (What is this an example of? What does it show?)
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Step: 2) Hypothesis: (What do you predict will happen when your group opens the CD case?)
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Step: 3) When directed to do so, make sure the case is standing up (Soil on the bottom of the
case) and carefully open CD case “A” over your paper plate and record your observation. NOTE:
Safety goggles should be worn at all times!
Observation: (What actually happened? Record exactly what you observed)
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Investigation: B
http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/
Step: 1) Recall: (What is this an example of? What does it show?
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Step: 2) Hypothesis: (What do you predict will happen when your group opens the CD case?)
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Step: 3)
When directed to do so, make sure the case is standing up (Soil on the bottom of the case) and
carefully open CD case “A” over your paper plate and record your observation. NOTE: Safety
goggles should be worn at all times!
Observation: (What actually happened? Record exactly what you observed)
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Results/Conclusion: (What can you conclude about this investigation? Was your hypothesis
supported, or not supported?)
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Day 2:
Your teacher will model a landslide for the class. You are required to keep a detailed log of
events. What happened? How many seconds did it take for the first water or "landslide “to fall
into the basin? When did the activity stop? When and how did the objects move in the flume or
fall into the basin?
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Scenario: 1
A high-end community is being built on a steep hill in California. The builders want to
ensure that the risk of a landslide is minimized to make the houses sell at a faster rate.
What can be done to prevent the potential danger of a landslide?
Explain your answer in 3-5 sentences by using what you have learned throughout this
lesson.
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Scenario: 2
Before the construction of the new development went underway, all of the trees in the
area were cut down to make room for the new houses. In what ways would the nearby
environment be impacted by this drastic change?
Explain your answer in 3-5 sentences by using what you have learned throughout this
lesson.
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(C) Copyright 2014 - all rights reserved www.cpalms.org