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Rocks and WeatheringRocks and Weathering

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What are rocks?What are rocks?Rocks are made from a combination of minerals and can be hard or soft depending on how the minerals are arranged.

Rocks can be found here…

…and here…

…and here…

…and here

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Some examples of erosion…Some examples of erosion…

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The Needles, Isle of Wight

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1890

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1910

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1940

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1975

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Present day

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Rock fragmentsRock fragments

When rocks are transported by a river they are eroded:

When rocks are broken off they can form “scree

slopes”

Rock shape up here

Rock shape down here

“Sediment”

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Weathering by ice

“Onion skin” weathering

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Erosion and weathering…Erosion and weathering…

EROSION is when rocks are gradually worn down.

WEATHERING is when rocks are broken up into smaller ones.

The ultimate result of both of these processes is SOIL.

08/04/23Examples of erosion…Examples of erosion…

Erosion Physical, chemical or biological?

Rocks bumping into each other while travelling down a stream

Tree roots pushing against the rock

Ice getting into cracks and expanding

Acid rain

Animals or plants digging into cracks

“Onion skin weathering”

08/04/23Erosion experiments…Erosion experiments…

Experiment 1: Shaking rocks in a bottle

In this experiment we…

This showed what happened when rocks travel with a stream.

Experiment 2: Acid on limestone

In this experiment we…

This showed the damage that can be caused by acid rain.

Experiment 3: Heating and cooling a rock

In this experiment we…

This showed the damage that can be done when a rock is heated and cooled, like during the day and night.

Describe what you did here…