Unit 3
Systems of the Earth: Wearing down the surface …….
Ministry Expectations:(http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/geo12/apa.htm )
It is expected that students will:
 Describe the landforms associated with weathering and mass wasting
 Assess the effects of weathering and mass wasting on human activities
 Describe the features and processes of erosion and deposition associated with water
and ice, including groundwater, rivers, oceans, and alpine, continental glaciation
and arid landscapes
 Assess the effects of water and ice on human activity
To meet these expectations students need to read the given sections in these texts as
identified below (much of the information found in these texts is similar) and answer
questions as assigned in class (or posted on my web page):
School Resources: Planet Earth a Physical Geography, G Birchall
Geography, Our Physical and Human Resources, B. Knapp and D.
Worrall
Physical Geography, Smythe et al.
Understanding Our Environment, S. Dunlop M. Jackson
1. Come to class:
2. Hydrologic Cycle
 Read Understanding Our Environment: Chapter 7 ‘Water’.
 Read Worrall: Chapter 8 ‘The Water Cycle’,
 Read Planet Earth: Chapter 10 ‘ The Hydrosphere and the Hydrologic Cycle’.
 Ground Water and Artesian Wells Exercise
3. Karst Landscapes:
 Web Exercise, Library, Planet Earth Ch. 13.3, Worrall Ch. 15
4. Weathering:
 Exercise, Planet Earth Ch.12 ‘ Denudation: Weathering and Mass
Wasting’, Worrall, Ch 9. Weathering,
5. Mass Wasting:

Read Mass Wasting: Planet Earth Ch 12. ‘Denudation: Weathering and Mass
Wasting’ Worrall, Ch 13. Mass Movement Processes.
6. Rivers:
 River Exercise:Read Planet Earth, Ch. 13, Humid Landscapes: The Work of
Rivers, and Worrall, Ch. 14 ‘Rivers and Valleys in Humid Regions’.
7. Glaciers:
 Glaciation Exercise; Read Planet Earth, Ch 14, Glacial Landscapes, Worrall, Ch
17. Glacial Landforms,
8. Coastal Landforms:
 Read Planet Earth, Ch. 14.6 and 14.7 Coastal Landscapes, Worrall,
Ch. 18 Coastal Landforms
9. Deserts:
 Planet Earth, Ch. 13.4 Arid Landscapes, Worrall, Ch. 16, Smythe, Ch. 10
 Desertification Exercise
10. Natural Hazards and Fragile Environments:
 Planet Earth, Ch. 15.2 Droughts and Floods and 16.3 Hydro Dams – Planned
Alteration, UOE. Ch.7(Water) and 9 (Land).
 Exercise- Human Impact, Dams
www.arch.mcgill.ca/.../ dbiggs/three.html
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