How Sinkholes Form

Lab Brief #3

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Weather isn't random — it's just complicated.

What you'll learn

Sinkholes form when underground limestone dissolves, leaving a cavity that collapses. They are common in areas with karst topography where water slowly dissolves the bedrock.

Key words

water cycle
The way water moves from clouds to rain to rivers and back.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you observe: what shape will it leave?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

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.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

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

Step 2 of 4 · 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 of 4 · Observe

Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

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

Question 1 of 3

How do fossils form?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

What forms when tectonic plates collide?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

What type of rock forms from cooled magma?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

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

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: What Causes Ocean Tides All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: Today's weather, tomorrow's beach, next century's coastline — all this.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it 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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How Sinkholes Form

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