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Year 9

Physical weathering and erosion

I can describe the difference between physical weathering and erosion of rock and provide examples of each.

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New
New
Year 9

Physical weathering and erosion

I can describe the difference between physical weathering and erosion of rock and provide examples of each.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Weathering is the slow breakdown of rocks on Earth's surface. It happens while the rocks are ‘in place’.
  2. Erosion is the process that removes material from where bedrock has been broken down or weathered.
  3. Rock can be weathered biologically, chemically or physically.
  4. Rock can be eroded by the wind, rain, or by flowing streams and rivers, oceans, ice flows or gravity.
  5. Small changes caused by weathering and erosion can have large impacts over time.

Common misconception

Pupils equate 'weathering' as the breakdown of rock caused only by the 'weather'. They also tend to use 'weathering' and 'erosion' interchangeably.

Provide many opportunities for pupils to identify weathering from erosion or classify examples of weathering or erosion.

Keywords

  • Weathering - The wearing down or breaking of rocks while they are in place. Weathering can be biological, chemical or physical.

  • Expansion - An increase in volume which happens when most solids get hotter, but also when water freezes to form ice.

  • Freeze-thaw - A physical weathering process whereby water seeps into cracks, freezes and expands. This gradually wedges open cracks until the rock breaks.

  • Erosion - The breakdown and removal of rock material by flowing water, wind, or moving ice.

Demonstrate erosion using a mixture of soil, sand, and different sized pebbles in a short section of guttering. Pour some water over the mixture and observe what occurs. You could show a series of pictures to illustrate changes to landforms over time by river, wind, or glacial erosion.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Short section of guttering; soil, sand & pebble mixture; water; bucket to collect mixture at bottom of guttering.

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - equipment

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Choose the correct chemical symbol for the element carbon.
Correct answer: C
Cu
Ca
Co
Q2.
When something undergoes expansion, this means its volume .
Correct Answer: increases, gets larger, goes up, gets bigger
Q3.
Match the type of rock to its description.
Correct Answer:Igneous,contain crystals that point in many directions

contain crystals that point in many directions

Correct Answer:Metamorphic,contain large crystals that are often in bands

contain large crystals that are often in bands

Correct Answer:Sedimentary,may contain fragments of shells, fossils or grit cemented together

may contain fragments of shells, fossils or grit cemented together

Q4.
Rocks often contain a mixture of minerals. What is a mineral?
Correct answer: A mineral is a pure solid substance which occurs naturally.
Correct answer: A mineral has a crystalline structure.
A mineral is an impure solid which occurs in nature.
A mineral does not contain crystals.
Q5.
Which keyword describes a rock with spaces between the grains?
Correct answer: porous
translucent
magma
Q6.
What is the main factor in determining crystal size in rocks?
Correct answer: The rate of change from a liquid to a solid state.
The rate of change from a solid to a liquid state.
The rate of change from a liquid to a gaseous state.
The rate of change from a gaseous state to a liquid state.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the correct statement.
Correct Answer:Weathering,Does not move fragments of rock to another location.

Does not move fragments of rock to another location.

Correct Answer:Erosion,Fragments of rock are moved naturally to new locations.

Fragments of rock are moved naturally to new locations.

Correct Answer:Biological weathering,Related to living organisms.

Related to living organisms.

Correct Answer:Chemical weathering,Related to chemical substances.

Related to chemical substances.

Correct Answer:Physical weathering,Related to forces acting upon materials.

Related to forces acting upon materials.

Q2.
What type of rock does weathering and erosion help to form?
Correct answer: Sedimentary
Igneous
Metamorphic
Q3.
Place the statements about the freeze-thaw weathering process in order, starting with water getting into the rock.
1 - Water seeps into cracks in the rock.
2 - Water freezes and expands in volume.
3 - This creates tension which causes the crack to widen.
4 - Ice thaws allowing more water to enter the widened crack.
5 - The process repeats until cracks are forced open and fragments fall away.
Q4.
Which statement explains why frozen water floats?
Liquid water molecules have more kinetic energy than frozen water.
Repulsive forces force the water molecules apart.
The density of liquid water is less than frozen water.
Correct answer: The density of frozen water is less than liquid water.
Q5.
Which of the following are examples of erosion occurring?
Correct answer: A landslide or cliff fall.
Growth of roots into cracks in the rocks.
Acid rain reacting with limestone in statues.
Correct answer: Tidal waves moving loose material away from cliffs.
Correct answer: Wind blowing sand from the cliffs inland.
Q6.
Why is rainwater naturally slightly acidic?
It has a pH of between 5 and 5.6.
Correct answer: Because water in the atmosphere reacts with carbon dioxide.
Because rainwater reacts with sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere.
Because there is a lot of nitrogen in the atmosphere and rain reacts with it.