CHAPTER 9
What is Weathering?
Lesson 3
Homework: p. 85, p. 90A
Create a shape booklet Earth’s Layers6
I. Mechanical Weathering
A. Describe two types of weathering.
B. What are two ways that mechanical weathering changes rocks?
C. Which type of rock will weather faster, sandstone or granite?
D. If there is a large sandstone boulder in a desert, what is likely to cause it to weather?
E. If a forest fire burns trees on a mountainside, what effect could the forest fire have on the
mountain?
II. Chemical Weathering
A. How are mechanical and chemical weathering alike? How are they different?
B. Two identical lime statutes are placed outside. One is made of limestone and one is made of
granite. Which statue will weather more slowly?
C. Why does an area with lots of rain weather Earth’s surface more than a dry dessert?
D. How can bedrock provide minerals to the soil?
E. Describe the layers of soils and how soil is made in a diagram below.
CHAPTER 9
What is Erosion?
Lesson 4
Homework: p. 86-87, p. 91A
Encyclopedia of Erosion:
Make a waterfall book illustrating and defining the different kinds of erosion (due Friday)
I. Erosion and Deposition
A. What is the main force causing erosion?
B. Compare erosion with decomposition.
C. In some parts of the world, people farm the slopes of mountains. What do you think the main
problems and benefits of this practice would be?
D. Suppose sand and gravel, and clay are being carried by a river. As the water enters a lake and
slows down, in what order will these sediments settle out of the water?
II. Wave Erosion
A. Describe how waves, currents, tides, and storms affect the geological features of the ocean shore
(beaches, barrier islands, inlets, and harbors).
B. What is the major cause of erosion along coastlines?
C. Why do you think waves help form inlets in some locations and not in others?
D. Why do you think it may be harmful to build cement barriers across beaches?
III. Wind, Sand, and Field Erosion
A. Define erosion, and tell how gravity works with water, ice and wind to cause erosion.
B. How does a delta form?
C. How do sand dunes from? Why is one side of a dune different than the other side?
D. Describe wind erosion and water erosion.
E. How is the process of sandblasting (for example, sand is mechanically blown against a surface
to strip paint) like the natural process of wind erosion?
CHAPTER 9
How Are Minerals Identified?
Lesson 5
Homework: p. 92A
Study your notes or work on Erosion Encyclopedia
I. Properties of Minerals
A. What properties are used to identify minerals?
B. Which mineral is harder magnetite or diamond?
C. Explain how the properties of luster and streak are used to help identify minerals.
D. What do you think would be the least useful property in identifying minerals? Why?
II. Using Properties to Identify Minerals
E. What is a mineral?
F. How is a mineral’s streak determined?
G. What are two properties of minerals what you can determine through observation without any
instruments?
H. What are the most common properties used to identify minerals?
I. If a mineral has smooth texture, no smell, a glassy luster, and a hardness above 7, what could it
be?
CHAPTER 9
How Are Rocks Classified?
Lesson 6
Homework: p. 93A
Textbook pp294-295, Questions 1-19
I. Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks
A. Why do some igneous rocks have larger crystals than others?
B. Is granite a metamorphic, igneous, or sedimentary rock?
C. Name one way igneous and sedimentary rocks differ.
D. What type of natural rock does human-made concrete most resemble?
II. The Rock Cycle
A. Draw a diagram of the rock cycle. Label and describe each class of rock and the processes that
form each
B. What conditions are necessary in order for metamorphic rock to form?
C. Are the layers of rock at the Earth’s surface younger or older than the layers below?
D. How are sedimentary rock layers used by scientists to learn about the past?
E. How could metamorphic rock change into sedimentary rock?
F. Is it possible to find an older fossil of an animal in a rock layer that is above where a younger
fossil of the same animal is found?