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Use what you know about weathering and erosion to answer each question. Look at any tables or graphs carefully before writing your answer.
1. A scientist measures how much soil is carried away by a stream each week. After a heavy rainstorm, much more soil washes into the stream than usual. Which statement best explains this observation?
A Moving water can carry more sediment when it flows faster and with greater force. B Rainstorms make rocks harder, so they break apart more easily. C Wind erosion increases during rainstorms, moving soil into the stream. D Plants grow faster after rain and push soil into the stream. 2. Scientists study how wind, water, and ice each cause weathering and erosion. Fill in the table with one example of weathering and one effect of erosion for each agent.
Feature Wind Water Ice Example of weathering it causes Effect of erosion it causes
3. Four hillside plots were set up to test how plant cover affects the amount of soil lost to erosion during a rainstorm. Each plot received the same amount of rainfall. The bar graph shows the grams of soil lost from each plot. Use the graph to answer: Which plot lost the LEAST soil, and what does this tell you about the relationship between plant cover and erosion rate?
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 No plants Sparse grass Dense grass Thick shrubs Soil Lost (grams) Plant Cover Type Answer:
4. A student notices that the rocks at the bottom of a river are smooth and rounded, while rocks on the nearby hillside are rough and jagged. Explain how water weathering and erosion could produce this difference. Include at least two steps in your explanation.
5. Hint: Think about what happens to ice when it gets into small cracks in a rock. When water seeps into a crack in a rock and then freezes, it expands and pushes the rock apart. This is an example of ___ weathering, because no new substance is formed and the rock only changes in size and shape.
6. A scientist measures the depth of a canyon carved by a river. In Year 1, the canyon is 120 centimeters deep. The river erodes 8 centimeters of rock each year. The scientist also measures that a nearby glacier erodes 15 centimeters of rock each year starting from the same Year 1 depth of 120 centimeters. After 5 years, how much deeper is the glacier canyon than the river canyon? Show your work.
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