Chapter 3 Review

How does wind cause erosion?

• Wind pulls rock and soil downhill.

• Wind causes sudden shifts in Earth’s crust.

• Wind blows dry sand and soil to new places

• Wind carries soil to the mouth of rivers to form deltas.

How do farmers prevent wind erosion of topsoil?

• They frequently plow their fields.
• They plant crops that grow close to the ground.
• They surround fields with natural barriers, such as trees.
• They plant crops in valleys rather than on hills.

Niki makes a report to her class about landforms. She explains that it is possible for a rock on the shoreline of the Mississippi River in Minnesota to become part of a river delta thousands of miles away near the Gulf of Mexico. Which answer provides the best explanation for her comment?

• Over time, rocks can erode into small pebbles or sand.
• Erosion and deposition can move the rock, where it settles in a new place.
• One average rainfall can cause a rock to move thousands of miles over land.
• There is no scientific explanation for the event that Niki described.

What kind of landform is made from the downhill pull of glaciers by gravity?

• mountains
• rivers
• deltas
• valleys

Which of the following changes to Earth's surface is caused by rainfall?

• Landslides
• Flooding
• Soil erosion
• All of the above

Why might an engineer make a model that simulates how sand is deposited at the mouth of a river?

• Because there is no place to study this on Earth.
• Because it is too small to study in real life.
• To study damage it may cause without causing real damage.
• To practice before actually depositing sand at the mouth of a river.

What factors may cause a rock to become particles of sand over time?

• Wind and water deposition
• Heat and pressure
• Sudden heating and cooling
• Erosion and weathering

Maria wants to investigate the effects of erosion on different land surfaces. In addition to safety goggles, her materials include   • 3 plastic cups with sand   • 1 square of sod, about 31 cm x 31 cm   • 2 large, flat trays   • 0.5 L of water   • 1 watering can   Maria puts 1 cup of sand on one of the trays and shapes it into a steep hill. She drapes the square of sod over it to make it grass-covered. She uses about 75 percent of the remaining sand to make a steep hill on the second tray, making sure it is the same size as the grassy hill. Maria puts half the water into the watering can and slowly pours it over the grass-covered hill. Then she puts the rest of the water into the watering can and pours it at the same rate over the sand hill. She observes that there has been almost no erosion on the grassy hill. Much of the sand hill has washed down onto the flat tray. How do you think the surface of the land affected erosion? What difference would it make if Maria had placed a light covering of pebbles on the sand hill?

• The leaves of the grass helped prevent erosion. Pebbles on the sand would have also prevented erosion.
• The leaves of the grass helped prevent erosion. Pebbles on the sand would not have prevented erosion.

The drawing shows a landform.  Which of the following is true of this landform?

• It formed as a river emptied into a lake.
• It formed as a glacier eroded the land.
• It formed as wind deposited sand.
• It formed as gravity eroded sediment.

Which ocean shore feature protects the mainland from wave, current and tide erosion?

• Mountains
• Inlets
• Barrier islands
• Beaches