EROSION RATES
(1 HOUR)
Addresses NGSS
Level of Difficulty: 2
Grade Range: 3-5 (Plus Grade 6 Extentions)
OVERVIEW
In this activity, students will conduct simple investigations to collect data on erosion rates of different Earth
materials (waves, wind, water, glaciers). They will rank their investigations to evaluate the most efficient
agent of erosion.
Topic: Earth Materials and Systems
Real-World Science Topics
• An exploration of how Earth materials influence landforms
• An exploration to describe processes that change rocks and the surface of Earth and determine the most
efficient agent of erosion
Objective
After completing this activity, students should be able to recognize that waves, wind, water and glaciers all
break rock and soil into smaller particles and move them around. Students in grade 6 should also be able to
explain how the flow of energy drives these processes.
NGSS Three-Dimensions
Science and Engineering
Practices
Planning and Carrying Out
Investigations
• Rainfall helps to shape the
land and affects the types
of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, living
organisms, and gravity break
rocks, soils, and sediments
into smaller particles and
move them around.
(4-ESS2-1)
Disciplinary
Core Ideas
Crosscutting
Concepts
ESS2.A:
Earth Materials and Systems
• Rainfall helps to shape the
land and affects the types
of living things found in a region. Water, ice, wind, living
organisms, and gravity break
rocks, soils, and sediments
into smaller particles and
move them around.
(4-ESS2-1)
Cause and Effect
• Cause and effect relationships
are routinely identified,
tested, and used to explain
change. (4-ESS2-1)
Background Information
How does Earth today compare with Earth of millions of years ago?
Earth is always changing. New mountains, lakes and rivers are being made, and old ones are disappearing. What forces cause Earth to change?
Internal and external forces cause changes on Earth. Sometimes the changes are fast, and sometimes the
changes are slow. Erosion, weathering, and glaciation are due to slow processes while hurricanes, flooding,
landslides, and volcanoes are quick processes. Gravity is the natural force that causes changes in Earth’s surface features.
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EROSION RATES
(1 HOUR)
What is the major agent of erosion?
Running water has had the largest impact on Earth’s land surface.
How is erosion different from weathering?
Weathering is the process that breaks down rock and other substances at Earth’s Surface. Erosion is the
movement of rock particles by water and wind.
Key Vocabulary
Erosion – process in which water, ice or wind move pieces of rock and soil
Sediment – solid material moved by wind and water
Gravity – a force that exists between any two objects that have mass
Materials Needed for Student Activity
• Small tray
• Cup of water
• Aluminum baking pan
• Sand
• Water
• Metric ruler
• Piece of cardboard
• Drinking straw
• Ice cube
• Modeling clay
• Meter stick
• Soil
• Dropper
Teacher Preparation
• Before students arrive, print station cards and make enough copies of the student capture sheet. Materials
should be set up at each station ready to go before students come in. Depending on your class size you
might want to provide multiple setups of each station.
• For the warm-up activity, have sand in trays prepared and cups of water off to the side of the classroom.
Prepare enough for pairs of students.
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STEPS FOR
1.
EROSION RATES
Warm-up Activity: Provide students with a small amount of sand, a small tray, safety goggles, and
cup of water. Challenge them to move the sand from one end of the tray to the other using as many
different methods as they can. Students should record their methods and then share with the class. One
method might be blowing the sand and it is important students wear safety goggles while investigating.
Grades 3-5: Ask students to identify the processes they are demonstrating. At this point, students are
likely to give very general/common descriptions of the processes. They might use terms such as blowing,
pushing, and rolling. Students should be prompted to use the term erosion by clarifying erosion is
process in which water, ice, or wind move pieces of rock and soil.
Grade 6 Extension: Ask students to identify the processes they are demonstrating. At this point, students
are might be able to identify key vocabulary such as erosion and gravity. Ask students to identify the
force(s) that caused the movement.
2.
Guide students to define the terms erosion, sediment and gravity. Use the Frayer Model with students to
map out the definitions of each term. Students will write the definition in the middle oval and fill out the
four sections. These terms will be used frequently throughout the lesson.
3.
Explain to students that there are four stations around the room that investigate systems that impact
Earth’s surface. They will be observing that all stations demonstrate a different agent of erosion and its
effect on Earth’s surface.
Station #1 Waves
Materials-aluminum baking pan, sand, water, metric ruler, and piece of cardboard
Grades 3-5: Students will build a small hill on one side of a tray with sand. On the other end, they will
pour a cup of water. Students will create different sized waves using the piece of cardboard. Ask students
to observe how the sand moves. Students will observe the sand being carried into the water and back
onto the sand pile.
Grade 6 Extension: Students will build a small hill on one side of a tray with sand. On the other end,
they will pour a cup of water. Students will create different sized waves using the piece of cardboard.
Ask students what relationship they observed about wave size and erosion. Ask students to identify the
force(s) that caused the movement. Students will identify that waves are caused by wind. They might
further explain fluid circulation in currents and/or the atmosphere.
Station #2 Wind
Materials-aluminum baking pan, cornmeal or sand, and drinking straw
Grades 3-5: Students cover the pan with a layer of sand or cornmeal 1-2 centimeters thick. They will use
a straw to gently blow over the layer of sediment. Ask students to observe how the sand moves. Students
will observe the sand or sediment being carried by their breath of air and being dropped down after
they stop blowing. Students might use the term gravity to explain how the sediment dropped.
Grade 6 Extension: Students cover the pan with a layer of sand or cornmeal 1-2 centimeters thick. They
will use a straw to gently blow over the layer of sediment. Ask students to identify what the cause and
effect of this movement is on Earth. Students will identify fluid circulation in the atmosphere as the
cause of wind and erosion as the effect.
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STEPS FOR
EROSION RATES
Station #3 Glaciers
Materials- ice cube, modeling clay, sand, cardboard
Grades 3-5: Students slide an ice cube over the clay and sand. They then leave the ice cube to melt at
the end of the path. Ask students to observe how the sand moves. Students will observe the ice picking
up particles of sand and that they are making a path. Where the ice melts they will observe the sand
making a small pile.
Grade 6 Extension: Students slide an ice cube over the clay and sand. They then leave the ice cube to
melt at the end of the path. Ask students to identify what the cause and effect of this movement is on
Earth. The movement of glaciers is caused by gravity and their movement causes erosion on the land
as it travels.
Station #4 Water
Materials- Petri dish, soil, water, pipette, meter stick
Grades 3-5: Students will fill a petri dish with 1 centimeter of soil. They will place the dish on a paper
and fill a dropper with water. Students will squeeze a large water drop from a height of 1 meter onto the
surface of the soil. They will measure the distance the soil splashed from the dish. They will repeat these
steps at a height of 2 meters. Ask students to observe how the dirt moves. Students will observe that
the greater height the soil splashed further. The splash caused the sediment to move from one place to
another.
Grade 6 Extension: Students will fill a petri dish with 1 centimeter of soil. They will place the dish on a
paper and fill a dropper with water. Students will squeeze a large water drop from a height of 1 meter
onto the surface of the soil. They will measure the distance the soil splashed from the dish. They will
repeat these steps at a height of 2 meters. Ask students to identify what the cause and effect of this
movement is on Earth. Students will identify the water cycle and gravity as the cause of the raindrop.
When it drops and hits the sediment, the sediment moves.
4.
Have students discuss and debate a ranking of most efficient agent of erosion to least efficient based
on their observations. Ask students to consider the amount of sediment that was moved from one place
to another. More sediment moved is evidence of a more efficient method.
5.
Wrap-up: Share with students that human activities can also affect Earth’s surface. Ask students to
consider how erosion is impacted when you plant trees on Earth’s surface. Deforestation is the process
of removing all the trees and vegetation. How could this process impact erosion?
Grades 3-5: Students will identify that by planting trees you can stop sediment from moving. Trees
slow down water as it runs and the roots can use the water. If trees are removed sediment can continue
to move freely.
Grade 6 Extension: Students will identify that by planting trees you can stop sediment from moving.
Trees slow down water as it runs and the roots can absorb the water. If trees are removed sediment
can continue to move freely.
Extension Activity
After a rainstorm, take a walking tour with your class around the school. Look for evidence of erosion. Try to
find areas where there is loose soil, sand, gravel, rocks, or bare ground with grass.
Sources
http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/main_frames.html
http://education.usgs.gov/lessons/schoolyard/glacialstriations.html
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STATION CARDS FOR
5
EROSION RATES
Waves
Wind
Glaciers
Water
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EROSION RATES
STUDENT HANDOUT
Name:
Date:
Waves
Ocean waves carry sand and other materials. As waves move over land, they drop off the materials they
carry. As ocean waves hit the shore, they break down rocks and other materials into small pieces. Erosion is
the movement of pieces from one place to another.
Do large waves erode more than small waves?
• Build a small sand hill on one side of the pan.
• Add water and make waves with the small piece of cardboard.
• Make small waves and then large waves.
• What relationship did you observe about wave size and erosion?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Wind
Wind shapes the land in places where there are few plants to hold the soil in place. Wind carries sand that
can grind down other rock. Wind carries sand and drops it creating hills, like sand dunes.
How does moving air affect sediment?
• Cover the bottom of a pan with a flayer layer of cornmeal or sand (1-2 centimeters deep)
• Gently blow over the layer of sediment using a straw to direct your breath. Observe what happens.
• What changes did the wind you created make in the flat layer of sediment?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Glaciers
Glaciers can form only in an area where more snow falls than melts. The movement of a glacier changes the
land beneath it. They move slowly and can pick up rocks and dirt as they move. These sediments can scrape
against the land as it flows with the glacier. When a glacier melts it will drop the sediments creating new
landforms.
How do glaciers affect sediment?
• There is a modeled landscape made out of clay with sand at your station, sprinkle with extra sand if needed.
• Slide an ice cube over the clay and sand.
• Leave the ice cube to melt at the end of the path.
• Write a description of how the sand moved.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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EROSION RATES
STUDENT HANDOUT
Water Erosion
Water in all forms can cause erosion. Raindrops splash moving particles of soil. In streams water moves
picking up and dropping sediment.
How does the force of falling raindrops affect soil?
• Fill a Petri dish with fine textured soil to a depth of about 1 cm. Make sure the soil is flat but not packet in.
• Place the dish on paper.
• Fill a dropper with water. Squeeze a large water drop from a height of 1m onto the surface of the soil.
Repeat 4 times.
• Use a meter stick to measure the distance the soil splashed from the dish.
• Repeat steps 1 through 4, this time from a height of 2 m. Which traveled further, the splash from 1 m or
the splash from 2 m?
• Which test produced the greater amount of erosion? Why?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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EROSION RATES
STUDENT HANDOUT
Frayer Model
Definition
Characteristics/Notes:
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Examples
Illustration
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