Here are the answers for each scenario on the worksheet, determining whether it is erosion, deposition, or weathering.
1. Ice wedging into the rock and breaking and cracking the rocks and soil.
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Answer: Weathering
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Explanation: The rock is being broken down into smaller pieces by the freezing water. It isn't moving yet; it is just crumbling. This is mechanical weathering.
2. The wind blows sand to form a sand dune.
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Answer: Deposition
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Explanation: The wind carried the sand (erosion), but when it stops blowing or slows down, it drops the sand in a pile. The act of dropping the sediment to build a landform like a dune is deposition.
3. Unique rock shapes that form when wind and/or water cause various particles to hit the rocks which creates unique rock shapes over time.
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Answer: Erosion
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Explanation: This process is often called abrasion. The wind or water acts like sandpaper, wearing away layers of the rock. Because material is being removed and transported away, this is considered erosion.
4. A sinkhole forms when the rock below the ground wears out and then everything about it gives way and caves in.
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Answer: Weathering
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Explanation: Sinkholes usually happen because acidic groundwater dissolves the limestone rock underneath the surface. Dissolving rock is a type of chemical weathering. The "caving in" is the result of the rock being weakened and destroyed.
5. Waves dropping sand on the beach.
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Answer: Deposition
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Explanation: The keyword here is "dropping." When the water loses energy, it can no longer carry the sand, so it settles on the bottom. Building up a beach with dropped sediment is deposition.
6. A lot of rain quickly or the rapid melting of snow will cause a landslide.
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Answer: Erosion
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Explanation: A landslide involves gravity pulling large amounts of soil and rock down a slope. Since the earth materials are moving from one place to another, this is a form of mass movement erosion.
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Final Answer:
1. Weathering
2. Deposition
3. Erosion
4. Weathering
5. Deposition
6. Erosion
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of rocks and weathering worksheet.
