Science

We are on a new TOPIC: FORCES THAT SHAPE THE EARTH.

Read below and prepare to make your own Report about... The Forces that Shape the Earth!

Fast Changes on the Earth

1. Volcanos

2. Earthquakes

3. Landslides

Slow Changes on the Earth

1. Weathering(Wind, rain..)

2. Erosion(transport and deposition)

First...lets look at the fast changes that happen on Earth and what Causes them.

Where do mountains come from? You know that the Earth is always changing. If weathering and erosion are always wearing away mountains, why isn't everything flat?  Where do mountains come from? There are several ways to make mountains, two of the quickest ways to make mountains are earthquakes and volcanoes. Click here to watch a brainpop movie about mountains. How do earthquakes and volcanoes make mountains?  The Earth is divided into different sections called tectonic plates.    These plates move about as fast as your fingernail grows.  As they move they cause earthquakes and volcanoes.  Click here to see an animation that shows tectonic plates on Earth.  Click here to discover where most earthquakes are located. What do you notice about the location of earthquakes and volcanoes? Click here to watch a brainpop movie about plate tectonics Look at this picture.  Can you see the line where two plates come together? Click here to make a mountain.

Old and new mountains   Look at these different mountain ranges.  Which do you think is the youngest?  Why?     Click here to see an animation of the Himalaya Mountains being formed How are rocks made? Click here and follow the instructions

NOW let's look at some of the ways that Earth changes slowly...

Slow Changes on the Earth

1. Weathering(Wind, rain..)

2. Erosion(transport and deposition)

Weathering happens when rocks are broken into smaller pieces.  These smaller pieces are called sediment, sand, pebbles or silt

When the smaller pieces are moved by wind or water it is called erosion.  So, weathering is making smaller pieces and erosion is moving the pieces.

By moving sediment, mud, sand, pebbles or silt from one place to another erosion creates...

 Wind Erosion

Think about a pile of dirt.  If a strong wind blows, what happens to the dirt? If the wind keeps blowing long enough and hard enough, the whole pile will erode, or wear away. A mountain is like a big pile of dirt.  The wind blowing across a mountain will slowly move the dirt and rocks and the mountain will become shorter and shorter until it is flat.

Wind can make some interesting shapes.

 

Water Erosion

Imagine that same pile of dirt.  You can also move the dirt by using water.  Think about your garden hose.  If you have a pile of dirt on the patio or sidewalk, you can use the water to wash it away. 

The same thing happens with big mountains. 

If you let the water run in the middle of the dirt pile, it would start to carve out a little stream.  The water would continue to move more dirt from the stream and the stream would get wider and deeper.  Water is a very powerful force.  Given enough time, a river can carve through rocks like a knife carves through meat.

Waves crashing against rocks can reshape the rocks

Weathering

  

You can break rocks, even really BIG rocks through weathering.  Think about a sidewalk, which is like a rock.  You've seen cracks in sidewalks.  Sometimes plants grow in the cracks.  As the plants grow, they cause the crack to get bigger.
Another thing that can cause the crack to get bigger is ice.  When it rains, water gets into cracks.  If the water freezes it becomes ice.  The ice pushes the crack open, and over time the crack will cause the rock to break apart.

 Science Projects

Visit the link below, Science Buddies, to research, refresh your knowledge of the Scientific Process, and for links to other research pages! GO SCIENTISTS GO!!!!

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/

We have completed our first Scientific Inquiry Project. We asked, "How Far Can You Jump?"

First we made an educated guess, or a Hypothesis and predicted which one of our group members would jump the farthest.

"I think xxxxx will jump the farthest because he plays sports everyday."

Then we wrote down the steps we needed to follow to carry out our experiment also known as the Procedure and recorded all the Materials we needed to carry it out.

Procedure
1. Take two yardsticks and place them on the floor, so you have one long yardstick.
2. Have your group line up and take their jump one at a time.
3. Jump and have a group member record how far down the yard stick you jumped. Make sure to measure from the back of your heel.
4. Record your data on a data table.
5. Repeat this process 2 times for each group member.
6. Find the average of your two jumps.

Materials
yardsticks(2)
closed toe shoes or bare feet
pencil
paper

Once all of our Data was recorded, we began to analyze it. First we found the average of our two jumps. Then using our Data Analysis skills, we found the mean, median, mode, and range of our data. Using the information we created a Bar Graph to display our results.

We then revisted our hypothesis to see if it matched our results. Were we correct? To wrap up our experiment we wrote down our Conclusion, or what happened.

Hooray!!! Our first Scientific Inquiry Project was complete!

Travel with us as we explore Earth in the Solar System

and the great Forces of the Universe

Gravity:

 Sir Issac Newton discovered gravity about 300 years ago. The story is that Newton saw an apple fall out of a tree. When this happened he realized there was a force that made it occur, and he called it gravity  


G-R-A-V-I-T-Y from aimn on Vimeo.


Gravity from aimn on Vimeo.

Look closer at Earth as we explore the Forces that Shape the Earth

Check out this video that shows us how the Earth was created!

Volcanoes

Hurricanes

and so many more...

Science Links

Visit the websites below to check out the latest in Science and Technology. What will you discover?

• Explore the National Geographic website- http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
• Visit Discovery Kids to learn about the magnificent world we live in-http://kids.discovery.com/tell-me