ES Student Report Weathering Gizmo (1)

Student Exploration: Weathering
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity C:
 On the Simulation tab, select Sandstone.
Weathering rates  Check that Frost wedging, Clay formation, and
Other are all selected.

Introduction: The most important things that determines how quickly a particular rock type
weathers is the climate, or typical weather conditions. Rocks in cool and dry climates weather
much differently than rocks in hot and rainy climates.

Question: How does the climate and rock type affect how quickly a rock weathers?

1. Predict: In each “Climate type” box, circle or highlight the condition you think will lead to the
fastest weathering for the given weathering type. 1 pt.
Weathering type Climate type
Frost wedging Hot or Cold Wet or Dry
Clay formation Hot or Cold Wet or Dry
Dissolving Hot or Cold Wet or Dry


2. Experiment: Click Return to original settings. Using the Gizmo, test the effect of
precipitation on the rate of weathering by measuring the amount of weathered sandstone in
20,000 years with low and high precipitation. Be sure to keep all the other variables the
same. Describe your results below. 3 pts

a. Weathered rock (low precip.) = and the amount weathered was m^3

b. Weathered rock (high precip.) = and the amount weathered was m^3
c. How does the amount of precipitation affect the amount of weathering?




3. Experiment: Click Reset and Return to original settings. Now test the effect of
temperature on weathering rates. Describe your results below. 3 pts

a. Weathered rock (low temp.) = and the amount weathered was m^3
b. Weathered rock (high temp.) = and the amount weathered was m^3

How does the temperature affect the amount of weathering?




2019
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, 4. Explain: Why do you think the rate of weathering tends to increase at hotter temperatures

and higher amounts of rainfall? 1 pt.


5. Experiment: Click Return to original settings and select Limestone. Turn off Frost
wedging and Other so that only Dissolving is selected. Using the Gizmo, test the effect of
precipitation and temperature on the rate of dissolving. 5 pts.

a. Dissolved rock (low precip.) = and the amount weathered was m^3
b. Dissolved rock (high precip.) = and the amount weathered was m^3

c. Dissolved rock (low temp.) = and the amount weathered was m^3
d. Dissolved rock (high temp.) = and the amount weathered was m^3


e. Summarize your findings:




Dissolving occurs more quickly at low temperatures because cold water can dissolve more
carbon dioxide than warm water. The greater the amount of dissolved carbon dioxide, the
more acidic the water is and the faster the rate of dissolving.


6. Experiment: Click Return to original settings and select Shale. Test the effects of
temperature on frost wedging and clay formation. Summarize your findings below. (Hint: Be
sure to test just one type of weathering at a time.) 2 pts.

a. Effect of high temperature on frost wedging: = and the amount was m^3
b. Effect of low temperature on frost wedging: = and the amount was m^3
c. Effect of high temperature on clay formation: = and the amount was m^3
d. Effect of low temperature on clay formation: = and the amount was m^3


7. Summarize: The chart to the
right summarizes different
Hot
Temperature




combinations of temperature
and precipitation.

Based on what you have
Cool




learned in this lesson, write
the name of each weathering
type listed below into the box
Dry Wet

Precipitation
2019
This study source was downloaded by 100000830772748 from CourseHero.com on 02-10-2022 03:45:52 GMT -06:00


https://www.coursehero.com/file/69294400/ES-Student-Report-Weathering-Gizmo-1docx/