Introduction:

How is the earth’s crust affected by the environment? Let’s learn about how different aspects of weather have an effect on rocks. We will examine the erosion or wearing away of rocks.

Task:

You work at a company that paves tennis court surfaces.

The company you work at depends heavily on the stability of the soil being solid to make a profit. The CEO of the company does not understand why it costs so much money to repair the soil before the tennis court surface is laid on top of it. You and a partner must convince members of your company that the company has no choice but to repair the soil before the pavement is laid or the damage will have to be repaired later because of the soil erosion anyway. You and your partner must present your results at the board meeting.

Process:

After completing the weathering activity, you and your partner will create a poster that contains a collage of images that show examples of the different types of weathering and has a description next to each image. This poster will be your visual that you will use to present why the soil needs so much repair before the tennis court surface is laid at the board meeting.

Sample Weathering Activity:

http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/8th/earth/sciber/weather.htm

Resources:

Types of Weathering:

http://www.geography4kids.com/files/land_weathering.html

Definitions and Pictures of the Different Types of Weathering:

http://www.gpc.edu/~pgore/geology/geo101/weather.htm

http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/usgsnps/misc/gweaero.html

Glaciers and Weathering:

http://www.uvm.edu/whale/GlaciersGlacialAges.html

Wind Erosion:

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3524?opendocument

Conclusions:

You must make a convincing argument to the CEO of the company. When you present your results make sure you stay in character and that you have a lot of evidence to make your point.

Sample Rubric for Poster Presentation:

http://www.bres.boothbay.k12.me.us/wq/stourtillotte/WQ/pages/Final%20rubric