Science KS 3 Unit 8G Rocks and weathering

In this unit pupils:

• learn about rock texture as one of the key characteristics of different rock types.
• model rock texture.
• learn about the processes of weathering, erosion, transportation and sedimentation.
• relate processes, e.g. evaporation and dissolving, involved in rock formation to processes observed in other contexts.
• consider processes operating on different timescales.

In scientific enquiry pupils:

• consider how evidence from sedimentary layers and from fossils has led to changes in ideas about the development of the Earth.
• frame questions to be investigated.
• make qualitative observations, including using time-lapse photography to record gradual changes, evaluating methods used.
• present data in an appropriate way.
• use scientific knowledge and understanding to explain observations.
• investigate a question about sedimentation.

This unit is expected to take approximately 7.5 hours.

OTHER RESOURCES

• a collection of rocks, either one available commercially or one compiled by the department, eg conglomerate, sandstone, limestone, chalk, mudstone, shale, slate, marble, quartz, granite, gabbro, basalt, pumice, obsidian, some of which are typical of their type and some of which have unusual features
• access to pictures, CD-ROMs, internet sites showing geological landscapes and events, eg volcanic eruptions, both explosive and lava, and simulations of geological events which occur over many millennia
• examples of fossils or fossilised materials
• materials for modelling rivers
• digital camera for recording changes over a period of time
• secondary sources illustrating the work of Mary Anning