Lesson 3 of 84 · Earth Systems
Lesson⭐ 30 XP🌋 Rock RealmWeathering: Breaking Down Rocks
Earth Systems.
🎯 Your mission
Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.
⚡ 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
The rock cycle shows how rocks change from one type to another. Igneous rocks form from cooled magma, sedimentary rocks form from compressed sediment, and metamorphic rocks form under heat and pressure.
Key Words
- erosion
- weathering
- sediment
Steps
Read the introduction and identify the main idea of this lesson.
Test rock hardness using Mohs scale: try scratching rocks with your fingernail, a penny, and a nail. Rank them from softest to hardest.
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 causes weathering?
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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