Lesson 4 of 13 · Earth Systems

Experiment⭐ 30 XP🌋 Rock Realm

Reading Rock Layers

🧪Lab Brief #4

Earth Systems.

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

Today's mountain was yesterday's ocean floor.

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Mind = Blown

🌋 There are 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth right now.

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Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where will the water go first?

What You'll Learn

Sedimentary rocks form in layers, with the oldest layers at the bottom. Geologists use these layers to determine the relative age of rocks and the fossils they contain.

Key Words

Tap a word to see its definition.

Materials Needed

rocks
water
plastic tray

Safety First

Wash your hands thoroughly afterwards and keep the material away from your face.
Mop up spills straight away so nobody slips, and keep liquids away from sockets.

Steps

Step 1 — Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 — Do

Model erosion: tilt a tray of soil and pour water from a cup at the top. Observe how channels form. Try adding plants or rocks to slow the erosion.

Step 3 — Observe

Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.

Step 4 — Record

Share your findings with the class or a partner and discuss what you learned.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

Which type of rock forms under heat and pressure?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

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Where you see this in real life

Today's weather, tomorrow's beach, next century's coastline — all this.

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Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Look at the sky for 5 minutes and try to predict tomorrow's weather.

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For the dinner table

“What's the slowest change you can think of?”

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Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

🌱Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

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Ready?