Rocks and weatheringLO: to define what a rock is and explain the process of weathering

marblemarble

granite

Gabbro (large crystals, slow cooling in the

Earth)

Discuss with your partner, 1. What is a rock?2. How are these rocks different? 3. How can you change a rock?

This is obsidian. It is a glassy, igneous rock.

This is granite. It is a course-grained rock with large, shiny crystals.This is pumice. This rock absorbs water very easily.

This is gabbro. Like granite, it is also a course-grained rock.

This is a conglomerate. It consists of rounded pebbles set in a mixture of finer grains

A rock is a mixture of different minerals made up of interlocking grains.for instance, granite contains quartz, feldspar and mica.

There are three types of rock: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.

This is obsidian. It is a glassy, igneous rock.

This is granite. It is a course-grained rock with large, shiny crystals.This is pumice. This rock absorbs water very easily.

This is gabbro. Like granite, it is also a course-grained rock.

This is a conglomerate. It consists of rounded pebbles set in a mixture of finer grains

What words would you use to describe these rocks?

What has happened to these rocks?

1

2

3

Physical weathering

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/science/chemistry/rock_cycle_2.shtml

Weathering isIt is the breakdown of rocks by physical

and chemical processes.

Erosion is the wearing away of rocks by wind, moving water and ice (glaciers). These usually contain weathered rock debris. Rock fall under gravity is also erosion.

Erosion is

Transportation is the movement of rocks to different areas

Videos and demo

Freeze Thaw Weathering

Freeze thaw (weathering)demo

Level assessed task: explain how a landslide occurs

White cliffs of dover as an example

Weathering and erosion circusActivity 1 looks at the effect of pouring water onto brown sugar to simulate the effect of water on soluble rock. Activity 2 looks at the residue left after water samples have evaporated to show that water can dissolve minerals. Activity 3 shows that water expands on freezing by placing a sealed jar of water in the freezer overnight and looks at the effect of freezing on a water-soaked sample of porous rock Activity 4 simulates the effect of water impact on rocks by pouring water on sand. Activity 5 uses a hair dryer to simulate wind erosion by ‘sandblasting’ copper sulfate crystals from a cylinder of Blu-Tack®.

Plenary- story of a weathered rock

• Write a short story about a rock that explains chemical and physical weathering including the key words below:

• Acid rain• Freeze, thaw, breakdown, rock, physical,

weathering, hot, cold, joints, crystals, porous.

• I am a rock in the hot desert sun……………..