Starter quiz
- Match the keyword to the correct statement.
- Weathering⇔Wearing down or breaking of rocks while they are in place. ✓
- Expansion⇔An increase in volume which occurs as liquid water freezes. ✓
- Freeze-thaw⇔Physical weathering process. ✓
- Erosion⇔Removal of rock fragments to a new location. ✓
- Landslides are an example of ______ erosion.
- 'gravitational' ✓
- When fragments of rock hit each other, and as they travel down a river or in the sea, more bits may break off. What is the name of this process?
- Erosion ✓
- Weathering
- Freeze-thaw
- Melting
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- Shells are made of calcium carbonate. What would be formed if fragments of shell were added to vinegar?
- A blue solution.
- Release of carbon dioxide gas. ✓
- Release of hydrogen gas.
- The shell fragments would not react with vinegar.
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- Choose the best description of a fossil.
- Something very old.
- Preserved remains or traces of a dead animal or plant more than 10 000 years old ✓
- Soft body parts of a dead animal found inside a rock.
- Bones of a dead animal.
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- Which rocks are types of igneous rock?
- Basalt ✓
- Granite ✓
- Sandstone
- Marble
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Exit quiz
- What is sediment?
- A type of rock formed from lava
- A material deposited by water, wind, or ice, such as pebbles, sand, or salts ✓
- A type of mineral found only in caves
- A process where rock layers are formed
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- What is the main cause of sediment deposition?
- Increase in temperature
- Slowdown of wind or water flow, or melting of ice ✓
- Increase in wind speed
- Earthquakes
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- Put the following steps of sedimentary rock formation in the correct order. This sequence should represent the journey from loose sediments to solid rock.
- 1⇔Sediments are transported by wind or water
- 2⇔Deposition of sediments
- 3⇔Compaction
- 4⇔Cementation
- What are strata in sedimentary rocks?
- Minerals that cement sediment grains
- Layers of rock formed by sediment deposition ✓
- Types of sedimentary rocks
- Processes that transport sediments
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- ______ occurs due to pressure, squashing sediment grains closer together during burial.
- 'compaction' ✓
- Strata can be used to create a relative timeline because each layer represents a period when ______ were deposited. The deeper layers are older, and the higher layers are younger.
- 'sediments' ✓
Worksheet
Presentation
Video
Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Water in nature always contains minerals.
- Sediments are deposited when wind or waterways slow down or when glaciers melt.
- Layers of sediment form over many years, leading to compaction.
- Sedimentary rock forms when sediment is buried and compressed, and salts from fluids cement the grains together.
- Strata can be used to create a relative timeline and provide clues to the environment when the sediments were deposited.
Common misconception
Some pupils think that compaction and cementation are the same processes.
Highlight that compaction is due to pressure while cementation occurs when minerals act as a 'glue' holding sediments together.
Keywords
Sediment - a material deposited by water, wind or ice, such as pebbles, sand, or salts left by evaporation
Deposition - the process of sediment grains settling out (i.e. being deposited) from water or wind as their flow slows, or as ice melts
Compaction - a process where sediment grains become compacted (i.e. squashed closer together) during burial
Cementation - a process by which sediment grains are cemented (i.e. stuck together) by minerals deposited from groundwater, turning the sediment into rock
Strata - layers of rock (i.e. several rock beds) formed by the deposition of sediment