4th grade · Science · Unit 8 of 10
Rock Layers & Erosion
Weathering, erosion and what rock layers tell us.
What your child practices
Practices how water, ice, wind and plants break down and move rock, and how patterns in rock layers and fossils show how a landscape changed over time.
Washington State Learning Standards learning standard: 4-ESS1-1; 4-ESS2-1 · rock layers and fossils show landscape change, and weathering and erosion shape the land
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which can cause weathering?
- A shadow
- Moonlight
- Water freezing in cracks
- A rainbow
Water freezing in cracks
Hint: Ice expands and splits rock.
Question 2
A river carved the Grand Canyon by…
- erosion over a very long time
- one big flood in a day
- an earthquake
- wind only
erosion over a very long time
Hint: Slow erosion.
Question 3
Sand dunes are shaped by…
- lava
- glaciers
- earthquakes
- wind
wind
Hint: Wind piles up sand.
Question 4
Which moves rock and soil the most in a river valley?
- Sound
- Running water
- Sunlight
- Moonlight
Running water
Hint: Rivers carry sediment.
Question 5
Rain falling on a slope with no plants will…
- wash away less soil
- grow plants at once
- wash away more soil
- make new rock
wash away more soil
Hint: Bare soil erodes.
Question 6
Why do glaciers leave U-shaped valleys?
- Volcanoes erupt
- Wind blows sand
- Ice scrapes wide, rounded valleys
- Rivers cut V shapes
Ice scrapes wide, rounded valleys
Hint: Rivers make V shapes; glaciers make U shapes.