Weathering It Out
Teaching Guide
Grade 5
Grade 5
Nature’s Forces at Work
Children love the outdoors regardless of whether they are in their own
backyards or visiting a park. Few children understand the geographical
features of the landscapes that they are enjoying. Weathering and erosion
are significant forces in the creation of these landscapes. Learning about
these forces will help children to both identify factors that sculpt the
earth’s surface but to also enable them to discover ways to preserve our
natural treasures.
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Weathering It Out
Teaching Guide
Grade 5
Interdisciplinary Connections
Mathematics TEKS
Language Arts TEKS

La



Listening and
Speaking
Vocabulary
Development
Measurement
Mathematical
tools
Constructive
And
Deconstructive
Forces
Social Studies TEKS


Art TEKS

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Problem-solving
and decision
making skills
Oral and visual
communication
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Perception
Communication
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Teaching Guide
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 Students will observe discrepant events involving chemical
and physical weathering.
 Students will make hypotheses about posed problems.
 Students will predict and hypothesize what will happen when
they create their own experiment with vinegar dribbled onto
various materials.
Evaluate
Elaborate
Explain
Engage
5.12 The student knows that the natural world includes earth
materials and objects in the sky.
(A) Interpret how land forms are the result of a combination of
constructive and destructive forces such as deposition of sediment
and weathering.
Explore
TEKS
Overview of Learning Experiences
 Students will discuss the results of the experiment and
explain why they think their hypotheses might be correct.
 Students will predict and briefly discussed predictions will be
recorded prior to each activity. Observations will be recorded
during every activity and discussed afterward.
 Students will demonstrate their understanding of the unit by
designing and completing a performance task, which will
consist of building a mountain.
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Science TEKS
5.1 Scientific processes. The student conducts field and laboratory
investigations following home and school safety procedures and environmentally
appropriate and ethical practices. The student is expected to:
(A) demonstrate safe practices during field and laboratory investigations;
and
(B) make wise choices in the use and conservation of resources and the
disposal or recycling of materials.
5.2 Scientific processes. The student uses scientific methods during field and
laboratory investigations. The student is expected to:
(A) plan and implement descriptive and simple experimental
investigations including asking well-defined questions, formulating testable
hypotheses, and selecting and using equipment and technology;
(B) collect information by observing and measuring;
(C) analyze and interpret information to construct reasonable
explanations from direct and indirect evidence;
(D) communicate valid conclusions.
5.3 Scientific processes. The student uses critical thinking and scientific
problem solving to make informed decisions. The student is expected to:
(C) represent the natural world using models and identify their limitations.
5.4 Scientific processes. The student knows how to use a variety of tools and
methods to conduct science inquiry. The student is expected to:
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(A) collect and analyze information using tools including calculators,
microscopes, cameras, sound recorders, computers, hand lenses, rulers,
thermometers, compasses, balances, hot plates, meter sticks, timing
devices, magnets, collecting nets, and safety goggles.
5.11 Science concepts. The student knows that certain past events affect
present and future events. The student is expected to:
(A) identify and observe actions that require time for changes to be
measurable, including growth, erosion, dissolving, weathering, and flow;
(B) draw conclusions about "what happened before" using data such as
from tree-growth rings and sedimentary rock sequences.
5.12 Science concepts. The student knows that the natural world includes earth
materials and objects in the sky. The student is expected to:
(A) interpret how land forms are the result of a combination of
constructive and destructive forces such as deposition of sediment and
weathering.
Language Arts TEKS
5.1 Listening/speaking/purposes. The student listens actively and purposefully
in a variety of settings. The student is expected to:
(A) determine the purposes for listening such as to gain information, to solve
problems, or to enjoy and appreciate (4-8)
5.2 Listening/speaking/critical listening. The student listens critically to analyze
and evaluate a speaker's message(s). The student is expected to:
(D) monitor his/her own understanding of the spoken message and seek
clarification as needed (4-8).
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5.5 Listening/speaking/audiences. The student speaks clearly and appropriately
to different audiences for different purposes and occasions. The student is
expected to:
(E) give precise directions and instructions such as for games and tasks (45).
(F) clarify and support spoken ideas with evidence, elaborations, and
examples (4-8).
5.8 Reading/variety of texts. The student reads widely for different purposes in
varied sources. The student is expected to:
(B) select varied sources such as nonfiction, novels, textbooks, newspapers,
and magazines when reading for information or pleasure (4-5)
5.9 Reading/vocabulary development. The student acquires an extensive
vocabulary through reading and systematic word study. The student is
expected to:
(E) study word meanings systematically such as across curricular content
areas and through current events (4-8).
5.13 Reading/inquiry/research. The student inquires and conducts research
using a variety of sources. The student is expected to:
(A) form and revise questions for investigations, including questions arising
from interest and units of study (4-5)
5.21 Writing/inquiry/research. The student uses writing as a tool for learning and
research. The student is expected to:
(A) frame questions to direct research (4-8);
(B) organize prior knowledge about a topic in a variety of ways such as by
producing a graphic organizer (4-8)
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Mathematics TEKS
5.11 Measurement. The student applies measurement concepts. The student is
expected to:
(A) measure to solve problems involving length (including perimeter),
weight, capacity, time, temperature, and area
5.14 Underlying processes and mathematical tools. The student applies Grade 5
mathematics to solve problems connected to everyday experiences and activities
in and outside of school. The student is expected to:
(C) select or develop an appropriate problem-solving strategy, including
drawing a picture, looking for a pattern, systematic guessing and
checking, acting it out, making a table, working a simpler problem, or
working backwards to solve a problem; and
(D) use tools such as real objects, manipulatives, and technology to solve
problems.
5.16 Underlying processes and mathematical tools. The student uses logical
reasoning to make sense of his or her world. The student is expected to:
(B) justify why an answer is reasonable and explain the solution process.
Social Studies TEKS
5.6 Geography. The student understands the concept of regions. The student is
expected to:
(B) describe a variety of regions in the United States such as landform,
climate, and vegetation regions that result from physical characteristics.
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5.9 Geography. The student understands how people adapt to and modify their
environment. The student is expected to:
(C) analyze the consequences of human modification of the environment in
the United States, past and present.
5.24 Science, technology, and society. The student understands the impact of
science and technology on life in the United States. The student is
expected to:
(E) predict how future scientific discoveries and technological innovations
could affect life in the United States.
5.26 Social studies skills. The student communicates in written, oral, and visual
forms. The student is expected to:
(C) express ideas orally based on research and experiences;
(D) create written and visual material such as journal entries, reports,
graphic organizers, outlines, and bibliographies; and
(E) use standard grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation.
5.27 Social studies skills. The student uses problem-solving and decisionmaking skills, working independently and with others, in a variety of settings. The
student is expected to:
(A) use a problem-solving process to identify a problem, gather
information, list and consider options, consider advantages and
disadvantages, choose and implement a solution, and evaluate the
effectiveness of the solution; and
(B) use a decision-making process to identify a situation that requires a
decision, gather information, identify options, predict consequences, and
take action to implement a decision.
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Art TEKS
5.1 Perception. The student develops and organizes ideas from the
environment. The student is expected to:
(A) communicate ideas about feelings, self, family, school, and
community, using sensory knowledge and life experiences.
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Background Information for Teachers
You may have always thought of rock as being symbolic of eternity and solidity.
Our problem is that we think in the time frame of our lifetimes (averaging now
about 72 years), centuries (the bicentennial of the United States, the 20th
Century), or forever (Adam born 4004 B.C.). But when we talk about the earth,
we have to think in millions and billions of years. Given this sort of time frame,
rock is weak. If you will look at gravestones, even in Civil War cemeteries, the
writing on them is worn and may even be gone. The surface of the tombstone
has been weathered away. We can no longer think of phrases written in stone as
being for the millennia; the rocks themselves are as impermanent as the sands of
time.
Rocks can be broken down by natural and manmade chemicals existing in the
environment. Many of the waters of the world are acid. Everyone should be
aware of acid rain. Acid precipitation makes acid waters on the land. Acid water
reacts with the rocks and breaks them down chemically. Acid rain is not the only
source of acid water. It is hard to grow grass under evergreens and oaks
because the soil under them is acid. You might want to test the soil to prove this.
When you put lime on your lawn you are doing it to neutralize the acidity in the
soil. In the north, you may have noticed that the streams are brown. The brown
color is caused by tannic acid in the water. If you put any rock in water it will
eventually dissolve (remember we are talking about geologic time). If you put the
rock in acid water, it will react and dissolve much more quickly. The best way to
demonstrate acid-rock relations is to use limestone and a very weak acid. You
can watch the acid eat away at the rock.
Seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth century gravestones are slowly being
dissolved by acid rain because many of them are made of marble, which has the
same chemical composition as limestone. In the U.S., we can judge the speed of
acid rain solution because the early twentieth century gravestones are worn as
much as the Revolutionary War stones. The process of dissolving the markers
has been going on for slightly more than a century because we have had acid
rain only since the Industrial Revolution.
Physical processes can also break rocks. Who does not know about hitting a log
with an ax and splitting it? The wedge shape of the axe head forces the log apart
and makes little sticks out of big logs. Hit a rock with a hammer and you can
break it. Drill a hole in rock, fill it with dynamite and blast it to smithereens. Even
today, granite is cut by drilling holes and driving steel wedges into the holes until
the rock splits. Have you ever had a bottle or a can filled with water or soda
freeze? (If not, put a can of Coke or Pepsi in the freezer right now and see what
happens!) If you drill a hole in a rock and fill it with water and the temperature
goes below freezing (which happens even in the desert southwest), what will
happen? The rock will split! What causes a pothole in a road? You get a warm
day in the
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Teaching Guide
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Changes Over Time
winter, the snow melts, water soaks into cracks in the road, at night, the
temperature goes below freezing and cracks the pavement. The next warm day
the ice melts and the passing cars knock all of the broken pavement out of the
hole. The same thing happens with rocks. Rain or thaw provides water; it soaks
into cracks in the rock, freezes and splits the rock.
When the Egyptians built the pyramids they did not have dynamite or even iron.
The limestone blocks used in the construction were cut by drilling holes in the
rock, filling the hole with wooden pegs, and then soaking them with water. The
wood expanded and split the rock. In nature there is a similar process, but
instead of using pegs and soaking them, trees grow on the land, the roots go
down into cracks in the rocks and expand as they grow. A slow, but also very
effective way to split the rock.
Rock can be broken down just by heating and cooling. You may have poured hot
water into a glass and had it shatter. Ever put the wrong type of a dish in the
microwave? When something is heated it expands. Shattering will occur if the
object begins to expand and contract, either too much or too rapidly. If the
surface of a rock is heated, the outside will expand outward more than the colder
inside. After many cycles of heating and cooling, the outside will eventually pull
away from the inside and break off. A rock on the surface of the earth would be
heated by the sun and cooled by the lack of sun. Try putting your hand on a
sunlit black rock, even in winter it will be warm to your touch. Air temperature
range is known to get as high as 100°F in the day and as low as 0°F in the
desert. That much change in temperature over a series of days is enough to
cause the rock to break down into its individual minerals. These temperature
ranges occur in the dessert. Commonly, you will see a heap of minerals grains at
the base of a rock or a pile of broken rocks at the bottom of a cliff in the dessert.
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Teaching Guide
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First—
Safety
Goggles
ENGAGE
Before class starts have a simple drip system set up to demonstrate erosion.
Materials Needed:
 Block of salt or a mineral block. *May be purchased at a feed store.
 Suitable container for block of salt and run-off.
 Simple drip system *Drip system may consist of a plastic gallon jug with a
small hole in the bottom suspended above the block.
 Science journals
This is an activity that will stretch out for a week.
1. Set up a block of salt in the classroom. Make the demonstration model
easily accessible for the students to be able to view. Construct the simple
drip system and begin the process by letting it run.
2. On the first day draw the student’s attention to the demonstration model.
Write the word “erosion” and “weathering” on the board. Give the students
five minutes to write in their science journals a definition of what they think
erosion and weathering is and make predictions on how the block will look
on day 2, day 3, and the rest of the week. Have them make drawings to
show what they think.
3. On day 2, catch some of the run-off water and some of the drip water,
place them in glass containers and allow both to evaporate. Have them
predict what will happen and record in their science journals.
4. The students will observe the model daily and take the first five minutes to
record their observations.
5. The students will now write down the correct definition of erosion and
weathering based upon their journal entries and their observations.
6. Have students hypothesize how this process can be related to real-life
situations.
The above activity is to demonstrate the effects of weathering and erosion and
shouldn’t take but a few minutes each day after the first day of discussion.
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EXPLORE
Each station will have a specific assignment within the group
 Principal Investigator: If the group has any questions, they should first
consult this person; this person also conducts the experiment when
appropriate.
 Materials Manager: This person collects and puts away materials
needed for experiment.
 Safety Manager: This person collects puts away any safety materials the
might need, such as plastic gloves, smocks, or goggles.
 Recorder: This person records group data and helps put away materials.
The following is an exercise that can lead students to an understanding of how
easy it is to break rock. With any luck the students will no longer think of the
eternity of the Rock of Ages or the solidity of the Rock of Gibraltar. Have the
students predict and hypothesis what they think will occur.
Definitions
Weathering - the process of breaking rock into small particles. The process leads
to the disintegration and decomposition of rock at or near the earth's surface.
Erosion - the transportation by water, wind, or ice of the broken material created
by weathering.
Materials Needed:
 Vinegar
 CaCO3 - limestone, marble, chalk, calcium supplement, or a calcium
antacid such as Rolaids or Tums.
 Ice cubes
 Jars
 Water
 Goggles
Chemical Weathering
The chemical weathering exercise is the most fun, but requires supervision
because you are using mild acid, vinegar (acetic acid). You probably should
check with your principal to see if there are any rules regulating the use of acid in
the classroom. The acid will not do any harm; vinegar is the basic ingredient in
Italian salad dressing. Explain to the students that they are using the
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mineral calcite (Calcium Carbonate, CaCO3) found in limestone and marble.
Explain, also, that the acid they are using is no more acidic than acid rain. To
make things easy for you, we suggest using a calcium antacid in this exercise, it
works beautifully. Not all antacids are calcium carbonate, so check the label. If
you put a pebble containing the mineral calcite (or an antacid tablet) in even a
very mild acid, it will react with the acid releasing CO2 and fizzing. Powder the
Calcium Carbonate by grinding it or smashing it with a hammer (it does not have
to be finely ground, just pulverized). When you put this into the vinegar it will
react instantaneously and violently. So that you know what will happen, try it
yourself first. We advise you to give the calcium carbonate to the students
yourself and not let them help themselves. They will have so much fun that the
exercise will soon get out of hand. After you have put enough Calcium Carbonate
in the vinegar, it will neutralize the acid and no more reaction (weathering) will
take place. This is the reason an antacid works. Just pour in more vinegar. Do
you realize that the only cure for a lake that has been made too acid by acid rain
is to spread lime on it (the lime is ground up limestone, calcium carbonate)?
Physical Weathering
The first question says to put an ice cube in hot water. Run the hot water tap until
it is the hottest, then fill your jar 3/4 full and gently and carefully drop an ice cube
in it. You do not want it to make any noise hitting the sides of the jar when you
drop it in. Right off it will make a crackling sound and you may be able to see
cracks in the cube. The crackling is caused by the rapid change in size of the
outside of the ice cube caused by the addition of heat. [In this case, since an ice
cube expands on cooling, it contracts on heating. This contraction causes the
cracking. Most material expands on heating and that causes the cracking.] To
demonstrate expansion with freezing of water, you might want to put a can of
soda in a freezer and then bring it into class and ask the students why it is puffed
out. Convincing the students that a root can crack a rock is going to be harder.
Try asking them what happens to their tummies if they eat too much and it grows.
Does it push against their belt or pop some buttons? What would have happened
if they were still wearing the same shirts they wore two grades ago? (The
comments you get on this analogy may stop all progress on this subject.)
Another way to crack a rock is to have another one fall on it. Can you think of
more ways? We even wear the rock away by walking on it. Maybe you are lucky
enough to have an old school with warn steps.
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Explain
CHEMICAL WEATHERING
1. Put a bit of powdered limestone (calcite) in a jar and add some dilute acid to
the jar. What happens?
2. Put a small pebble of limestone in another jar and cover it with dilute acid.
What happens?
3. Put a piece of quartz in another jar and cover it with dilute acid. What
happens?
4. After an hour, what has happened to the limestone?
Jar with limestone powder.
Jar with limestone pebble.
Jar with a piece of quartz.
You are using weak acid. When the substance disappears into the acid, or salt
disappears into water, it dissolves. Rainwater (acid rain) and much of the water
you find in the ground is also a very weak acid.
5. What do you think happens when water from acid rain runs over limestone?
6. If the limestone is broken into very small pieces, will it take a longer or shorter
time to dissolve than it would if it was a solid mountain?
7. Will a mountain of limestone dissolve?
8. If a rock is made up of quartz sand cemented together by calcite, what would
be left if the rock were in acid rain for a long time?
9. What would happen if a stream ran over this rock for many, many years?
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Teaching Guide
Grade 5
ANSWER SHEET - CHEMICAL WEATHERING
1. Put a bit of powdered limestone (calcite) in a jar and add some dilute acid to
the jar. What happens?
The calcite reacts bubbling and frothing and dissolves very quickly.
2. Put a small pebble of limestone in another jar and cover it with dilute acid.
What happens?
The calcite reacts slowly giving off a few bubbles.
3. Put a piece of quartz in another jar and cover it with dilute acid. What
happens?
Nothing happens. The quartz does not react at all.
4. After an hour, what has happened to the limestone?
Jar with limestone powder.
All the calcite disappeared.
Jar with limestone pebble.
Some of the calcite may still be there.
Jar with a piece of quartz.
Nothing. The quartz is all still there.
You are using weak acid. When the substance disappears into the acid, or salt
disappears into water, it dissolves. Rainwater (acid rain) and much of the water
you find in the ground is also a very weak acid.
5. What do you think happens when water from acid rain runs over limestone?
It dissolves it just the same way it dissolves the calcite because a
limestone is made of calcite.
6. If the limestone is broken into very small pieces, will it take a longer or shorter
time to dissolve than it would if it was a solid mountain?
The smaller the particles of limestone the quicker they will react with the
acid rain.
7. Will a mountain of limestone dissolve?
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Changes Over Time
Yes, but very slowly because it is a very large particle of limestone.
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Teaching Guide
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8. If a rock is made up of quartz sand cemented together by calcite, what would
be left if the rock were in acid rain for a long time?
The calcite cement will be dissolved away leaving the quartz grains as
loose sand particles.
9. What would happen if a stream ran over this rock for many, many years?
The stream would erode (wear) away the loose sand carrying it down
stream, wearing the mountain away
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Teaching Guide
Grade 5
PHYSICAL WEATHERING
1. What happens when you take an ice cube from the freezer and put it into hot
water?
2. What do you think would happen if solid rock were suddenly heated?
3. What might heat a rock on the surface of the earth?
4. When you freeze water, does the ice (crystalline water) take up more room or
less room than the water (does it expand)?
5. If water gets into a crack in the rock and freezes, do you think the crack will get
bigger or smaller?
6. Why will it get bigger or smaller?
7. What will happen to the rock?
8. What else might get into a crack in a rock and eventually make the crack
bigger? [Clue - consider something living!]
9. Can you think of another way a rock might get cracked?
10. Will weathering be faster if both physical and chemical weathering are going
on together? Why?
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11. Would you expect weathering to be faster in New York or in Arizona? Why?
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Teaching Guide
Grade 5
ANSWER SHEET - PHYSICAL WEATHERING
1. What happens when you take an ice cube from the freezer and put it into hot
water?
If you listen very carefully you will hear it snapping and crackling. If you
look at it right after it crackles you can usually see cracks in it.
2. What do you think would happen if solid rock were suddenly heated?
The same thing. It would crack.
3. What might heat a rock on the surface of the earth?
The sun, forest fire, see if you can think of more ways.
4. When you freeze water, does the ice (crystalline water) take up more room or
less room than the water (does it expand)?
More, ice expands when it freezes. Most material expands when you heat it.
5. If water gets into a crack in the rock and freezes, do you think the crack will get
bigger or smaller?
Bigger.
6. Why will it get bigger or smaller?
Ice expands when it freezes.
7. What will happen to the rock?
The rock will be split apart.
8. What else might get into a crack in a rock and eventually make the crack
bigger? [Clue - consider something living!]
Tree roots.
9. Can you think of another way a rock might get cracked?
Heating and cooling by the sun. Other rocks falling on it from above.
People or animals walking on it. Cars driving on it. Can you think of more?
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10. Will weathering be faster if both physical and chemical weathering is going on
together? Why?
Yes, because two processes will be working and two are faster than one.
Each of these will make space for the other to work. Water is needed for
chemical weathering and if you have water in a cold region it will freeze and
thaw.
11. Would you expect weathering to be faster in New York or in Arizona? Why?
In New York because you have lots of water and good freezing and thawing
in the winter.
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Teaching Guide
Grade 5
Wind Erosion
Materials Needed:







Cardboard box with top and one side removed
Sand
Water
Plastic chips, pebbles, coins
Goggles
Small personal paper fan
Science Journals
1. Every group will have a box with its top and one side removed. A pile of sand
will then be formed in the center of the box bottom.
2. Children will be instructed to use a small personal paper fan over the sand
from the open side of the box.
3. Students will record their results.
4. Students will then be asked to reform their sand piles and will be given a
choice of materials (water, plastic chips, pebbles, and coins) to choose from to
try and prevent the sand from moving.
5. Students will again be instructed to blow and record their observations.
Questions:
- What happened to the sand when you used the fan?
- Could you make the whole pile move if you blew long enough?
- What materials did you choose to add to your reformed piles and why did you
choose these materials?
- What was the effect after you added these materials and blew?
- Can you think of any examples of wind erosion in nature?
Examples:
Show pictures of sand dunes from the Sahara and Kalahari Deserts in Africa, the
Gobi in China, and the Patagonia in Argentina.
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Source: Stetsko, Dorothy. Encarta Schoolhouse. "Erosion."
(encarta.msn.com/alexandria/templates/lessonFull.asp?page=351).
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Glacier Erosion
Materials Needed:






Ice Cubes
Modeling Clay
Sand
Paper towels
Goggles
Science Journal
1. Students will press an ice cube against the flat surface of modeling clay and
move it back and forth several times and record observations.
2. Students should then place a small pile of sand on the clay. The ice cube
should be placed on top of the sand and left for one minute.
3. Students should then pick up the ice cube and observe the surface of the cube
that was touching the sand and again record their observations.
4. The same side of the ice cube should then be placed on the sandy part of the
clay and moved back and forth several times.
5. The ice cube should be removed, the sand should be wiped away from the
surface of the clay, and the clay’s surface texture should be recorded.
Questions:
- What happened to the clay the first time you wiped the cube against it?
- What happened to the ice cube after it sat on the on the sand?
- What did the surface of the clay look like after you rubbed the cube against it
the second time?
- Does glacial erosion still occur today or is it just an ice age phenomena?
- Can you give any examples of Glacier erosion?
Examples:
Show pictures of Hubbard Glacier in Alaska and a picture of the Matterhorn in
Switzerland, a geographical anomaly produced by glaciers. Also discuss how
glaciers exist in every Mountain chain in the world including the Andes,
Himalayas, and Alps.
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Source: Stetsko, Dorothy. Encarta Schoolhouse. "Erosion."
(encarta.msn.com/alexandria/templates/lessonFull.asp?page=351).
Weathering It Out
Teaching Guide
Grade 5
Temperature Erosion
Materials Needed:
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






1 can of sterno per group
matches
stand
pyrex beakers
marbles
cups of ice and cups of water
non metal tongs
goggles
science journals
1. Safety rules will be thoroughly reviewed before this lesson because we are
using sternos. The teacher will light the sterno. Students should wear goggles.
Methods of extinguishing the sternos will be discussed. A warning against
touching the sterno will be given. Sleeves will also be raised and jewelry will be
removed to prevent accidents. Students will also be told to keep two feet on the
floor to prevent them from getting too close to the fire or cooking marble.
2. Students should set up a stand holding a Pyrex beaker. Their marble should
be placed in the beaker and they should have a cup of water and ice nearby.
3. The teacher will come around and light each sterno. Students are asked to
monitor the fire and marble for 5 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes the principal investigator should use tongs to place the marble
in a glass of water and then into the jar full of ice. The safety manager should
simultaneously extinguish the sterno.
Questions:
- What happened to the marbles?
- What do you think caused the marbles to crack?
- Can you give examples of temperature erosion?
- How might we prevent erosion due to temperature?
Examples:
As a class go outside and observe the sidewalk and driveway noting the cracks
perhaps due to temperature erosion. Draw their attention to the grooves in the
sidewalk to prevent temperature erosion.
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Source: Brune, Sheila. The Lessons Plans Page. "Landforms and Weathering."
(www.lessonsplanpage.com/LandformsAndWeathering.htm).
Weathering It Out
Teaching Guide
Grade 5
Evaluation
Mountain Building - Assessment
Materials Needed:
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Trays
Potting soil
Rocks
Sand
Ice cubes
Plastic chips
Watering can
Goggles
Science journals
1. The groups will be asked to build a mountain which they believe will best hold
up to a watering can full of water being poured over their structure. One group
will be assigned to build their mountain out of sand, one group out of potting soil,
one group will use rocks and a small amount of sand, one group will use rocks
and soil, and two groups will be able to use any combination. All groups will have
access to a certain number of plastic chips, pebbles, and ice cubes.
2. The groups must devise a building plan writing down all suggestions. The
groups must also write down what their final building plan consists of and why
they think this is the best structure to withstand the water.
3. Students will be allowed to observe all groups’ completed structures and make
predictions which will then be recorded on the board.
4. The students should then build their mountains, after which then will have a
watering can of water emptied onto them.
5. Students must record the results and explain why they think such an outcome
occurred. Then students must suggest improvements to their structure and
explain why they think such improvements will be beneficial.
Discussions:
Spend some time discussing the results of each individual group’s mountain test
and compare them to the predictions which were recorded on the board. The
quality of their science journals will determine the greatest part of students’
grades for the unit. The other determinant of students’ grades will be
participation/cooperation and following directions.
Source: Walker, Tom. AskERIC Lesson Plan. "Mountain Building."
(ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Earth/EAR0015.html).
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Interdisciplinary Activities
Reading: As a class read Karen Hesse’s Out of the Dust (1997). The tragedy of
the Dust Bowl is experienced through the eyes of Billie Jo, an adolescent living in
Oklahoma in the 1930s.
Writing: The creative writing project for this time period will involve the students
creating brochure to entice visitors to the Grand Canyon. Recent vocabulary and
grammar will be stressed. A section discussing the formation of the canyon will
also be mandatory. Students will also be encouraged to use information from the
social studies unit which will focus on the native American Anasazi cliff dwellers
and other native Americans of the region, including the Havasupai. Students will
be allowed to use the Internet.
Social Studies: Begin a unit on Native Americans with special attention paid to
the Anasazi cliff dwellers which inhabited areas of Grand Canyon National Park.
Art: Make "acid" rain sticks or normal rain sticks which could also tie in with the social
studies unit. For information on how to make a rain stick go to the following site:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/rain_stick/index.html
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Reading Connections
Stone Wall Secrets by Thorson, Kristine; Thorson, Robert. Tilbury
House 1998
As he and his grandson walk along the stone walls surrounding his New England
farm, an old man shares stories about the geologic history of the stones as well
as some of the memories they hold for him. This book is illustrated with rich
watercolor artwork. STONE WALL SECRETS: EXPLORING GEOLOGY IN THE
CLASSROOM; TEACHER'S GUIDE by Ruth Deike, a geologist with the USGS,
is also available.
The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole with illustrations by
Bruce Degen Scholastic, 1987
The duos usual combination of humor, fiction and nonfiction works as well as
ever as Ms Frizzle and her class dig through the earth encountering and
identifying the layers of rock they encounter before emerging in the lava of an
erupting volcano.
The Pebble in My Pocket by Meredith Hooper and Christopher Coady
Viking
Views the effects of change over millions of years on the life of a pebble.
Books by Seymour Simon: Volcanoes (Mulberry, 1988 ISBN 0688140297.
Paperback.), Earthquakes (Mulberry, 1991 ISBN 068814022X. Paperback),
Oceans (Morrow, 1990 ISBN 0688094538. Hardcover. Paperback.), Deserts
(Morrow, 1990 ISBN 0688074162. Library Binding. Paperback), Icebergs &
Glaciers (Morrow, 1987 ISBN 0688061869. Hardcover.), and Mountains
(Morrow, 1994 ISBN 0688110401. Hardcover. Paperback.). Each of these books
uses really spectacular color photographs that grab your attention. The text is
within the reach of most second graders yet the information is such that most
adults will find something fascinating in these books that they didn't know before.
Simon makes comparisons kids can grasp and he has never lost his sense of the
wonder of it all. He never oversimplifies or makes unfounded generalizations.
http://www.carolhurst.com/newsletters/33bnewsletters.html
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/ll/ap/searchresults.asp
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References
Source: Stetsko, Dorothy. Encarta Schoolhouse. "Erosion."
(encarta.msn.com/alexandria/templates/lessonFull.asp?page=351).
Source: Brune, Sheila. The Lessons Plans Page. "Landforms and Weathering."
(www.lessonsplanpage.com/LandformsAndWeathering.htm). Source: Walker,
Tom.
AskERIC Lesson Plan. "Mountain Building."
(ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Earth/EAR0015.html).
http://www.skidmore.edu/~jthomas/fairlysimpleexercises/Index.html
Crushed limestone is easily obtained from local lawn and garden stores or
nurseries.
Salt block or mineral block may be purchased at a feed store or farm and ranch
supply store.
http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/hubbard/index.htm
http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/wolverine/photos/oblique_aerials
http://www.kaibab.org/geology/gc_geol.htm
http://www.grand.teton.national-park.com/info.htm#geol
http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/the_land/sahara_desert.shtml
http://www.danheller.com/sahara.html
www.env.leeds.ac.uk/ ~mreed/001_XA.JPG
Sterno and their holders can be purchased at places that sale camping supplies
such as Academy, Sport Authority, and Oshman’s Sports.
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The pictures that are on the following student pages can be copied off and
laminated. The can be shown to the students and then placed at the stations
where the activities are being conducted.
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CHEMICAL WEATHERING
1. Put a bit of powdered limestone (calcite) in a jar and add some dilute acid to
the jar. What happens?
2. Put a small pebble of limestone in another jar and cover it with dilute acid.
What happens?
3. Put a piece of quartz in another jar and cover it with dilute acid. What
happens?
4. After an hour, what has happened to the limestone?
Jar with limestone powder.
Jar with limestone pebble.
Jar with a piece of quartz.
You are using weak acid. When the substance disappears into the acid, or salt
disappears into water, it dissolves. Rainwater (acid rain) and much of the water
you find in the ground is also a very weak acid.
5. What do you think happens when water from acid rain runs over limestone?
6. If the limestone is broken into very small pieces, will it take a longer or shorter
time to dissolve than it would if it was a solid mountain?
7. Will a mountain of limestone dissolve?
8. If a rock is made up of quartz sand cemented together by calcite, what would
be left if the rock were in acid rain for a long time?
9. What would happen if a stream ran over this rock for many, many years?
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PHYSICAL WEATHERING
1. What happens when you take an ice cube from the freezer and put it into hot
water?
2. What do you think would happen if solid rock were suddenly heated?
3. What might heat a rock on the surface of the earth?
4. When you freeze water, does the ice (crystalline water) take up more room or
less room than the water (does it expand)?
5. If water gets into a crack in the rock and freezes, do you think the crack will get
bigger or smaller?
6. Why will it get bigger or smaller?
7. What will happen to the rock?
8. What else might get into a crack in a rock and eventually make the crack
bigger? [Clue - consider something living!]
9. Can you think of another way a rock might get cracked?
10. Will weathering be faster if both physical and chemical weathering are going
on together? Why?
11. Would you expect weathering to be faster in New York or in Arizona? Why?
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The Grand Canyon
How was it formed?
The truth is that no one knows for sure though there are some pretty good
guesses. The chances are that a number of processes combined to create the
views that you see in today’s Grand Canyon. The most powerful force to have an
impact on the Grand Canyon is erosion, primarily by water (and ice) and
secondly by wind. Other forces that contributed to the Canyon's formation are the
course of the Colorado River itself, volcanism, continental drift and slight
variations in the earths orbit which in turn causes variations in seasons and
climate.
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Water seems to have had the most impact basically because our planet has lots
of it and it is always on the move. Many people cannot understand how water
can have such a profound impact considering that the Canyon is basically
located in a desert. This is one of the biggest reasons that water has such a big
impact here. Because the soil in the Grand Canyon is baked by the sun it tends
to become very hard and cannot absorb water when the rains to come. When it
does rain the water tends to come down in torrents, which only adds to the
problem. The plants that grow in the Grand Canyon tend to have very shallow
root systems so that they can grab as much water as possible on those rare
occasions when it does rain. Unfortunately these root systems do nothing to
deter erosion by holding the soil in place. Now you've got lots of water, no place
for it to go, but down to the Colorado River, and nothing holding the soil and rock
in place. The result is frequently a flash flood roaring down a side canyon that
can move boulders the size of automobiles, buses and even small houses. If
automobiles, buses and small houses are in the way then it will take them too.
Luckily no one builds houses in the Grand Canyon so that's not a problem but
there are a few autos, vans and buses sitting at the bottom of the Colorado. This
mass that moves down a side canyon during a flash flood is more like a fast
flowing concrete than water and it can be very dangerous. You should always be
well informed of weather conditions when you are hiking through side canyons in
the Grand Canyon.
After erosion by liquid water the next most powerful force is probably its solid
form, ice. In the colder months, especially on the north rim, water seeps into
cracks between the rocks. These cracks can be caused by seismic activity, or by
the constant soaking and drying of the rocks. When the water freezes it expands
and pushes the rocks apart and widens the cracks. Eventually rocks near the rim
are pushed off the edge and fall into the side canyons. These rocks sometimes
hit other rocks and are stopped but on occasion one fall by a large rock will
cause a cascading effect and create a rock fall that will alter the landscape
drastically in the side canyon. Debris from rock falls piles up at the bottom of the
side canyons and is then carried down to the Colorado River the next time there
is a flash flood. Rock falls frequently take out sections of trail in the Grand
Canyon requiring the Park Service to close these trails until they can be repaired.
Once the ice had pushed the rocks off the edge and the water in the flash floods
has carried them down to the river, then the Colorado itself takes over. The
erosive action of the Colorado has been severely constrained by the building of
the Glen Canyon Dam, which ended the annual spring floods, but there is still a
lot of water flowing relatively quickly through a very narrow gorge. Before building
the dam the Colorado River had spring floods that would exceed a flow rate of
100,000 CFS. All of that snow melting in the Colorado Rockies came pouring
down through the Grand Canyon in May and June, every year, like clock-work.
These spring floods were considerably larger than todays "trickle" of 8,00010,000 CFS at low water and even the 20,000 CFS peak flow rates.
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The Colorado's spring floods used to carry away all of the debris that was
deposited in the main channel by the flash floods, but today’s mediocre flow rates
have a tough time doing the job. It still gets done to some extent; it just takes a
lot longer. In the process of moving the rocks and sediment down the river to the
Pacific Ocean the bed of the river is scoured by all of this fast moving debris
which slowly eats away at the banks and bed of the river. This causes the river to
widen and cut down deeper into the lower rock layers. Another cause for the
slowing of the erosive force of the Colorado River is the fact that it is now trying
to cut through harder granites and schists found at the bottom of the Canyon
instead of the softer limestones, sandstones and shales near the top. This rock
takes a lot longer to erode and a slower moving river means it takes even longer.
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The Grand Tetons
Two rectangular blocks of the Earth's crust moved like giant trap doors, one
swinging skyward to form the mountains, the other hinging downward to create
the valley. Wind, rain, ice, and glaciers constantly eroded the rising range.
Meanwhile, enormous glaciers and torrential melt-waters flowed southward
carrying cobbles, gravel, and coarse sand and periodically re leveled the floor of
the sinking valley.
During the immense span of time before the mountains' rise, vast seas
repeatedly advanced and retreated, leaving behind a thick, nearly flat blanket of
sedimentary rock layers. Between 60 and 70 million years ago, ancestral
mountains rose here as a broad, northwest trending arch, and the last seas
retreated eastward. Jackson Hole east of the arch became the site of enormous
sheets of gravel interspersed with thick volcanic ash, lava and fresh water lake
sediments. Enormous tensional faults fractured these formations, and 9 million
years ago today's Teton Range started rising. Broken sedimentary layers of
ancient sandstone, shale, dolomite and
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limestone still cap each end and the west side of the range. The sandstone
remnant atop Mount Moran, over 6,000 feet above the valley, once connected to
the same sandstone layer that now lies an estimated 24,000 feet below the valley
floor block resulting from faulting process that created these mountains.
In addition to this great displacement along the Teton fault, the central peaks
were thrust even higher, along fault zones within the range. Wind, water, ice and
glaciers long ago stripped sedimentary layers off the central peaks, uncovering
basement rock nearly as old as the Earth itself. Resistant granite, sculpted into
the Grand Teton and adjacent peaks, towers as the central range's exposed
core.
Cascading water initially cut steep, v-shaped gorges throughout the rising range.
Changes in the Earth's climate caused long periods when snowfall exceeded
melting, precipitating glaciers in sizes beyond imagination. Glaciers advanced
and in warmer times receded in mountain gorges, and cut across the floor of
Jackson Hole. Southward flowing ice more than 3,000 feet thick filled the valley,
overriding buttes and surrounding mountains. Only the high Teton peaks
protruded through engulfing ice. Mountain glaciers, particularly during the last Ice
Age, widened steep gorges into broad, u-shaped canyons.
Over a comparatively short span of time, mountain glaciers of the last major
glacial period shaped the Teton skyline more than any other erosional force. At
upper elevations, where the most snow accumulated, the heads of the glaciers
scooped out depressions, and frost wedging augmented their quarrying action.
Sheer cirque walls, rugged ridges, and jagged peaks reflect the slow, dynamic
carving by these great masses of moving ice.
Rocks of all sizes, falling onto and plucked by these moving glaciers, increased
their grinding powers. The flanks of the range displayed scoured canyons that
dive toward the valley. Upon leaving confining canyons, the larger glaciers
spread onto the valley floor, while melting at a speed equal to their flow. An
immense volume of unsorted rock, transported and dumped by these glaciers in
a conveyor belt action, formed natural dams. These now encompass lakes called
Leigh. Jenny, Taggart, Bradley and Phelps. Similarly a lobe of the extensive
Yellowstone snowcap extended southward as a broad glacier that deposited rock
as morainal ridges, damming melt waters to create Jackson Lake.
South of Jackson Lake, torrential melt waters spread cobbles and gravels to form
broad terraces. Additions of loess (wind deposited silt) helped to form fair soils,
but rainfall percolates rapidly through the underlying rocks. Sagebrush identifies
these areas. Where glaciers transported and deposited unsorted rock as
moraines, loams and silts below the soil help to retain water essential to stands
of lodgepole pines and sub-alpine firs.
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High on alpine slopes, trees and flowers struggle in fragile soil, where harsh
weather limits growth. At all elevations, geology and available water determine
vegetation, which in turn controls the variety, abundance and distribution of
wildlife.
At upper elevations a dozen smaller glaciers slowly flow from the cirques cut by
the Ice Age giants. School-room Glacier, so named for its easily observable
classic characteristics, represents but one page of the living textbook that
includes the accessible rock of the Teton Range, Jackson Hole and adjoining
features. This rock offers the most complete geologic record in North America.
Future events will include infrequent earthquakes that signal movement along the
fault zone as the Teton Range continues to rise and Jackson Hole drops down.
Wind, water and ice will sculpt ancient rock into a different, but no less
impressive skyline.
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Hubbard Glacier, Alaska
Photo by R. March, USGS, June 13, 1986, during 1986 Russell Fiord closure.
Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier on the North American continent.
It has been thickening and advancing toward the Gulf of Alaska since it was first
mapped by the International Boundary Commission in 1895 (Davidson, 1903).
This is in stark contrast with most glaciers, which have thinned and retreated
during the last century. This atypical behavior is an important example of the
calving glacier cycle in which glacier advance and retreat is controlled more by
the mechanics of terminus calving than by climate fluctuations. If Hubbard
Glacier continues to advance, it will close the seaward entrance of Russell Fiord
and create the largest glacier-dammed lake on the North American continent in
historic times.
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Wolverine Glacier, Alaska
Wolverine Glacier, Sept. 10, 2003. Photo by Rod March.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates a long-term program to monitor
climate, glacier motion, glacier mass balance, and stream runoff. The data
collected are used to understand glacier-related hydrologic processes and
improve the quantitative prediction of water resources, glacier-related hazards,
and the consequences of climate change (Fountain and others, 1997). The
approach has been to establish long-term mass balance monitoring programs at
three widely spaced glacier basins in the United States that clearly sample
different climate-glacier-runoff regimes. Wolverine Glacier is one of these three
long-term, high quality mass balance monitoring sites operated by the USGS.
The other monitoring sites are Gulkana Glacier in central Alaska and South
Cascade Glacier in Washington.
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The Sahara Desert
The Sahara Desert, covering most of North Africa, is the largest desert in the
world. From north to south the Sahara is between 800 and 1,200 miles and is at
least 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from east to west. Due to the massive size of the
Sahara, Africa is split into two regions: that which lies above or forms part of the
Sahara and the rest of Africa south of the Sahara. On the west, the Sahara is
bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by the Red Sea, and to the north
are the Atlas Mountains and Mediterranean Sea.
Actually, it turns out that the area used to be lush with green forests and lakes.
But, a massive climate change (probably due to the green house effect that the
dinosaurs caused with their aerosol experiments in the early pre-historic times)
caused the whole place to dry up. Wind and erosion turned the petrified land into
sand.
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Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari desert is part of the huge sand basin that reaches from the Orange
River up to Angola, in the west to Namibia and in the east to Zimbabwe. The
sand masses were created by the erosion of soft stone formations. The wind
shaped the sand ridges, which are so typical of the landscape in the Kalahari.
Only in recent geological history, 10 to 20,000 years ago, were the dunes
stabilised through vegetation, so the area should actually be called a dry
savannah. Unlike the dunes of the Namib Desert, those of the Kalahari are stable
and not wandering.
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