Lesson 10 of 84 · Weather and Climate
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🌋 Rock RealmPlate Tectonics: Moving Continents
Weather and Climate.
🎯 Your mission
Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.
⚡ The twist
The slowest changes are the biggest ones.
Mind = Blown
🪨 Every grain of sand on every beach used to be a mountain.
Make a hypothesis first
Predict: which will erode faster?
What You'll Learn
Tectonic plates are huge slabs of Earth's crust that float on the mantle. Where plates meet, earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building occur.
Key Words
- erosion
- sediment
- igneous
Materials Needed
- sand
- clay
- water
- plastic tray
- magnifying glass
Safety First
- Be careful with scissors — ask an adult for help if needed.
Steps
Study the diagram and label the parts you recognize.
Create a model of the water cycle in a bowl: place warm water in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, put ice on top, and observe condensation and precipitation.
Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.
Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What forms when tectonic plates collide?
Where you see this in real life
Today's weather, tomorrow's beach, next century's coastline — all this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Look at the sky for 5 minutes and try to predict tomorrow's weather.
For the dinner table
“What's the slowest change you can think of?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
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