1. Physical Processes: Mrs. Walker 4th Grade

2. Earth’s Surface:
The surface of the earth is made up of many different landforms.
A landform is a natural shape and type of land on Earth’s surface.

3. Landforms: Mountains Hills Plateau Plains Valley River Peninsula
Canyon
Glacier
Volcano

4. Guided Practice: Landform Review
Complete
Land and Water Formations
Worksheet.

5. Lets Think!!! Does Earth’s surface ever change?
What causes those changes?
Why? How? Examples?

6. Physical Processes: Earth’s surface is constantly changing.
Different natural events, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, change the size and shape of landforms.
These events are known as physical processes.

7. Example: Mt. Saint Helens (1980)
Before After

8. Example: Earthquake/Tsunami in Japan
Before After

9. Lets Review:
Earth’s surface is made up of many different types of landforms.
Physical processes, such as volcanos, earthquakes, flooding, and erosion shape and reshape earth’s surface.
Preview:
In our next lesson we will learn about a theory that explains why earthquakes and volcanos happen and how mountains are formed.

10. Plate Tectonics

11. Plate Tectonics
The theory that Earth’s plates float on magma and slowly shift over time.

12. Plate
Definition:
A large sheet of rock that makes up Earth’s outer crust.

13. Mountain Definition: A natural rise of the earth with steep sides.
Mountains are formed when plates collide and the land buckles upwards.

14. Towel Demonstration: How are mountains formed?

15. Earthquake
Definition: Occur when two of the earth’s plates move causing vibrations, or shaking to occur.
Earth’s crust has many weak spots along plate edges. When plates rub against each other, Earth’s crust cracks and chips under the pressure. These cracks are called faults. When the crust moves along faults, great amounts of energy are released in the form of earthquakes. Earthquakes cause dramatic changes to the surface of the earth.

16. Earth’s crust has many weak spots along plate edges
Earth’s crust has many weak spots along plate edges. When plates rub against each other, Earth’s crust cracks and chips under the pressure. These cracks are called faults. When the crust moves along faults, great amounts of energy are released in the form of earthquakes. Earthquakes cause dramatic changes to the surface of the earth.

17. Bam, Iran 12/26/2003

18. Volcano
Definition:
An opening in the earth’s crust from which lava flows.

19. Plates move in different directions
Plates move in different directions. In some places, plates move apart and magma leaks out through cracks in the crust. In other places the plates push against each other. This pressure forces one plate to slide under the other. Overtime, tremendous pressure and heat build up. Molten rock gushes upward, exploding from beneath the ground. This is how volcanos are formed.

20. Plate Tectonics: Volcano Formation
Plates move in different directions. In some places, plates move apart and magma leaks out through cracks in the crust. Deep in the oceans, the cooling rock builds up over time. The expanding rock forms lines of underwater mountains called ridges. In some places the plates push against each other. This pressure forces one plate to slide under the other. Overtime, tremendous pressure and heat build up. Molten rock gushes upward, exploding from beneath the ground. This is how volcanos are formed.

21. Mt. St. Helens 5/18/1980

22. Plate Tectonics Video

23. Plate Tectonics Mountains Volcanos Plates Shift Earthquakes
Formed when 2
plates collide and
one plate moves
under another causing
magma to flow
upward and
erupt onto
Earth’s
surface.
Formed when plates collide and the land buckles upward.
Plates
Shift
Venn diagram
Formed when 2 plates move and rub against each other causing vibrations,
or shaking
Earthquakes

24. Weathering and Erosion

25. Weathering
Definition: The wearing away of a surface through weather conditions, such as wind, rain or ice.
The Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States were once as high as the Rocky Mountains in the western United States. Wind and rain weathered down the peaks.

26. Erosion
Definition: A process that breaks rocks down into tiny pieces and moves them to another location.

27. Erosion
Wind, rain, and ice cause erosion which slowly wear away Earth’s landforms.
Erosion helps create soil. (Tiny fragments of rock mix with decay mix with decayed animal and plant material to form soil.)
Over time, erosion can create new landforms.

28. Erosion:
The Grand Canyon was formed by erosion.

29. What’s the Difference?
Erosion involves running water, blowing wind, or moving ice that picks up and moves the particles to another location.
Weathering takes place as rocks are broken down into smaller pieces by the effects of weather. These pieces do not move to a new location, they simply break down, but remain next to one another.

30. Topic: Weathering and Erosion
KWL Chart
Topic: Weathering and Erosion
What I Know
What I Want to Know
What I Learned
Weathering and erosion cause Earth’s surface to change.
Weathering breaks down Earth’s surface into smaller particles but doesn’t move them.
Erosion breaks down Earth’s surface into smaller particles and moves them to another place.
How quickly does weathering and erosion happen?
What forces cause weathering and erosion to happen?
What happens to the particles after they have been broken down.
How does weathering and erosion affect people?

31. Weathering and Erosion Video

32. Topic: Weathering and Erosion
KWL Chart
Topic: Weathering and Erosion
What I Know
What I Want to Know
What I Learned
Weathering and erosion cause Earth’s surface to change.
Weathering breaks down Earth’s surface into smaller particles but doesn’t move them.
Erosion breaks down Earth’s surface into smaller particles and moves them to another place.
How quickly does weathering and erosion happen?
What forces cause weathering and erosion to happen?
What happens to the particles after they have been broken down.
How does weathering and erosion affect people?
Most (but not all) weathering and erosion occur very slowly.
Water, ice, wind, temperature, and gravity are all forces that cause weathering and erosion.
Broken down particles can become soil or sand. Also, new landforms can be formed.
Can damage housing or crops.

33. Definition: An overflow of water onto land that is normally dry
Definition: An overflow of water onto land that is normally dry. Flooding is often caused by heavy rains.
Flooding

34. Flooding Overflowing rivers add nutrients to the surrounding soil.
If the Mississippi River were to flood, there would be an increase in fertile soil in the MS River Valley.
If the Mississippi River were to flood, there would be an increase in fertile soil in the MS River Valley.

35. Check for Understanding:
What creates new landforms?
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Erosion
All of the Above

36. Check for Understanding:
Which of these does not cause weathering?
sunshine
wind
rain
ice

37. Check for Understanding:
Which United States landform was most likely caused by erosion?
The Great Lakes
The Mississippi River
The Rocky Mountains
The Grand Canyon

38. Check for Understanding:
Which physical process most likely formed the Great Smoky Mountains?
Flooding rivers
Erupting volcanoes
Plate tectonics
Wind erosion

39. Check for Understanding:
Which physical process most likely causes a river to overflow, adding nutrients to the local soil?
Heavy rains
Volcanic eruptions
Strong Winds
Melting Snow

40. Check for Understanding:
Which physical process most likely shaped the feature shown?
Plate tectonics
Volcanic eruptions
Water erosion
Coastal flooding

41. Check for Understanding:
Which physical process most likely created the mountain range shown on the map?
erosion
flooding
plate tectonics
volcanic eruptions