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Lesson 9 of 15 · Earth Systems

Experiment30 XP🌋 Rock Realm

What Causes Landslides

🧪Lab Brief #9

Earth Systems.

🎯 Your mission

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

⚡ The twist

Today's mountain was yesterday's ocean floor.

🤯

Mind = Blown

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

🔮

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where will the water go first?

What You'll Learn

Landslides occur when slopes become unstable due to heavy rain, earthquakes, or human activity. Gravity pulls loose rock and soil downhill, sometimes with devastating speed.

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 1Read

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

Step 2Do

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 3Observe

Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.

Step 4Record

Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What causes earthquakes?

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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.

👨‍👩‍👧

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.

Ready?

What Causes Landslides

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

Full screen — no distractions

🖨️

Checkout complete lesson on Earth Systems for 5th Grade

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

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What Causes Landslides — Earth Systems | 5th Grade Science | LittleActivity