Integrated Science
Chapter 2 Day 1
Bell ringer
How do potholes form in paved roads?
Write a few sentences that describe how water contributes to the formation of potholes.
Illustrate how cycles of freezing and thawing help cause postholes to grow.
Targets
I can …
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Describe how ice, water, wind, gravity, plants, and animals cause mechanical weathering.
Describe how water, acids, and air cause chemical weathering of rocks.
Activity 1
Students will read this section silently. They will then in pairs, take turns summarizing the material.
Activity 2
“Acids React” Lab on page 44 in the Integrated Science books
Students will be given a penny and a small amount of ketchup. Ketchup is an example of a food that is
considered a weak acid. It will react with certain substances.
1) Students are to take a penny that has a dull appearance, and rub ketchup on it for several
minutes.
2) Rinse penny in container of water.
Then students are to answer the following questions:
1) Where did all the grime on the penny go?
Answers may vary: Students might note that the grime on the surface of the penny reacted
chemically with the acid in the ketchup and dissolved.
2) How is the process similar to what happens to a rock when it is exposed to natural acids during
weathering?
Answers may vary: Students should note that the way that rocks react with acids is similar to the
way that the grime on the surface of the penny reacted with the ketchup.
Activity 3
Acid Lab – Check the pH of different water samples (See Ms. Jackson for lab sheet and materials)
Activity 4
Complete the weathering and soil formation worksheet with a partner. Students will take turns reading
the different sections and answer the provided questions. (Chapter 2: Section 1, Interactive textbook)
Closing
Mechanical or chemical?
To reinforce the difference between chemical and mechanical weathering, have students decide
whether each of the following phenomena is an example of mechanical or chemical weathering.
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A rock on a mountainside
o Answer: mechanical
A rusty bridge
o Answer: chemical
Lichens and mosses growing on a boulder
o Answer: Chemical
An alpine glacier advancing down a valley
o Answer: mechanical
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A ROCK WKSHT?
Homework
Complete the section review on page 45 of the integrated science book on a sheet of paper.
VOCAB?
Materials
Copies of the Interactive textbook: Weathering and Soil formation
Ketchup
Pennies
Water samples
pH paper
Lab worksheet
Integrated Science
Chapter 2 Day 2
Targets:
I can…
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Explain how the composition of the rock affects the rate of weathering
Describe how a rock’s total surface area affects the rate at which the rock weathers.
Describe how differences in elevation and climate affect the rate of weathering.
Bell ringer:
Ask students to image that they are in a sand castle building competition at the beach. Ask them to
come up with ways to protect their castle against the weathering effects of wind and waves. Students
are to then share their ideas with the class.
Activity 1:
Antacid tablet lab
Provide students with two clear glass containers that contain calcium antacid tablets. One container will
contain a tablet that is whole. The other container will contain a tablet that is broken into pieces.
Explain to students that both antacid tablets and limestone contain calcium carbonate, which dissolves
in acidic solutions. Have students pour vinegar into the glasses and cover the tablets. Ask students which
of the tablets “weathers” more rapidly. (The one that is broken will dissolve more rapidly)
Lead students to conclude that surface area affects the rate at which materials weather.
Students will complete a lab worksheet (to be provided by Mrs. Jackson or Mrs. Benjamin)
Activity 2
Students read and take Cornell notes on Chapter 2, Section 2.
Total SURFACE AREA TO VOLUME TRANSPARENCY? ( just so they understand)
Activity 3
Complete the Interactive Textbook: Rate of Weathering worksheet.
Closing
Answer the following questions:
1) Do different types of rock weather at different rates?
Answer: Yes
2) Does chemical weathering affect the rate of mechanical weathering?
Answer: Yes
3) What factors contribute to accelerated weathering rates at high elevations?
Answer: wind, precipitation, and gravity
Materials
Antacid tablets
Vinegar
Handouts: Interactive Textbook: Weathering, Lab sheet
Homework
To understand ice wedging, try this activity at home with an adult. Fill a small plastic water bottle with
water. Plug the opening with a piece of putty. Place the bottle in the freezer overnight. Describe in you
journal what happened.
Integrated Science
Chapter 2, Day 3
Targets
I can…
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Describe the source of soil.
Explain how the different properties of soil affect plant growth.
Describe how various climates affect soil.
Bell ringer
Have students answer the following questions:
1. Has there always been soil on Earth?
Answer: No, soil did not exist until the parent rock of the early Earth was weathered.
2. What makes the soil so valuable to humans?
Answer: Answers will vary. Soils support growth of plants, which provide humans with oxygen
and food.
Activity 1
Provide groups with magnifying lenses and samples of several types of local soil. Have students empty
each sample onto a piece of white paper and examine the soil. Have students record their observations
about each sample’s composition, color, particle size, texture, and moisture content. Ask groups to
hypothesize how each soil formed and what type of plant life might grow in the soil.
SAND, SOIL, SILT CLAY?
BURLESE FUNNEL AS CLASS DEMO?
Activity 2
Have student s write the title of each section on a piece of paper. Next have the students write what
they think they will learn in each section. After students have written down their thoughts, have
students read aloud the section.
Teaching Transparency, E38 Soil Horizons Use this transparency to illustrate soil horizons.
Activity 3
Persuasive Essay
Some winds-swept deserts have very little surface soil because wind has carried off most of the smaller
particles. This leaves an exposed layer of pebbles and gravel too heavy to be moved by the wind. This
layer, called desert pavement, may take hundreds of years to form, but once established, it protects the
desert from further erosion. Desert pavement is easily destroyed by off-road vehicles.
Ask students to write a persuasive essay arguing whether such sensitive desert areas should be off limits
to vehicles.
Closing
Answer the following questions:
1. What is the source of mineral fragments in soil?
Answer: parent rock
2. What is the organic part of the soil called?
Answer: humus
3. What causes topsoil in tropical climates to be thin?
Answer: leaching from heavy rains
Homework
Complete the Directed Reading A for “From Bedrock to Soil”
Materials
Soil samples
White paper
Integrated Science
Chapter 2- Day 4
Targets
I can…
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Describe three important benefits that soil provides.
Describe four methods of preventing soil damage and loss.
Bell Ringer
Tell students Franklin D. Roosevelt’s quote: “The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” Have
students write down their thoughts to this quote. Then lead a discussion about the quote.
Activity 1
Making postcards
Have students imagine that they are on a world trip during which they travel to every climate mentioned
in section 3. Tell them to write a series so postcards in which they describe what the soil is like in each
climate. The picture on each card should be a magazine photograph or a drawing that illustrates the soil
in that climate.
Activity 2
Math practice “Making soil” Page 57
Suppose it takes 500 years for 2 cm of new soil to form in a certain area. But the soil is eroding at a rate
of 1 mm per year. Is the soil eroding faster than it can be replaced? Explain.
Answer: 1mm per year x 500 years = 500 mm
500 mm = 50 cm
50 cm > 2 cm
Thus, the soil is eroding faster than it is forming.
Activity 3
Connection to History, George Washington Carver, Tell students about the scientist George
Washington Carver, and have them learn more about his life
Raising Awareness
Declare “Soil Conservation Week”. Have students create posters that alert your school to the
importance of soil and that highlight some ways to protect and conserve the soil.
Closing
Have students answer the following questions:
1. What is one way that nutrients are removed from the soil?
Answer: By planting the same crops every year
2. How do contour plowing and terracing help prevent soil erosion?
Answer: By interrupting water flow across the topsoil
Homework
Complete the Reading Comprehension worksheet for “Soil Conversion”
Materials
Magazines
Paper to make postcards
Crayons, Markers, Colored Pencils
Poster paper
Integrated Science
Chapter 2- Day 5
Targets (Review of all)
I can …
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Describe how ice, water, wind, gravity, plants, and animals cause mechanical weathering.
Describe how water, acids, and air cause chemical weathering of rocks.
Explain how the composition of the rock affects the rate of weathering
Describe how a rock’s total surface area affects the rate at which the rock weathers.
Describe how differences in elevation and climate affect the rate of weathering.
Describe the source of soil.
Explain how the different properties of soil affect plant growth.
Describe how various climates affect soil.
Describe three important benefits that soil provides.
Describe four methods of preventing soil damage and loss.
Bell Ringer
Answer Questions 5-10 on pages 62
Answers: 5D, 6A, 7C, 8C, 9D, 10 D
Activity 1
Watch a video on soil erosion. Students will answer questions as they watch the movie.
Activity 2 (20 minutes)
Complete the Standardized Test Preparation on page 64-65.
Answers: 1 B, 2B, 3A, 4C, 5C, 6C, 7B, 8B, 9B, 10 and 11 will vary.
Activity 3
Play a review game. (Quiz the following Tuesday)
Materials
Video