9

Lesson 9 of 84 ยท Earth Systems

Lessonโญ 30 XP๐ŸŒ‹ Rock Realm

Layers of the Earth

๐ŸงชLab Brief #9

Earth Systems.

๐ŸŽฏ Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

โšก The twist

The slowest changes are the biggest ones.

๐Ÿคฏ

Mind = Blown

๐Ÿชจ Every grain of sand on every beach used to be a mountain.

๐Ÿ”ฎ

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: which will erode faster?

What You'll Learn

Earth has three main layers: the thin outer crust, the thick mantle, and the dense core. The core has a liquid outer layer and a solid inner layer made mostly of iron.

Key Words

  • weathering
  • erosion

Steps

Step 1 โ€” Read

Review the background information on Earth Systems before starting.

Step 2 โ€” 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 โ€” Observe

Watch carefully for any changes and note the time.

Step 4 โ€” Record

Create a data table to organize your measurements.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What causes earthquakes?

๐ŸŒ

Where you see this in real life

This is shaping the ground you walk on, slowly, every single day.

๐Ÿ†

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Find a rock outside and try to guess how old it is.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ง

For the dinner table

โ€œWhat's the slowest change you can think of?โ€

๐ŸŽฏ

Next Smart Experiment

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

๐ŸŒฑShare card

Share this experiment

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

๐Ÿ–จ๏ธ

Checkout complete lesson on Earth Systems for 4th Grade

Get the full Earth Systems track as a printable PDF โ€” all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

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Layers of the Earth โ€” Earth Systems | 4th Grade Science | LittleActivity | LittleActivity