Study guide: Land, Water and Surface Change
Distinguish Earth features and fast or slow changes.
Ideas to explain in your own words
- Maps represent selected features. A river is flowing surface water; a lake is a body of water surrounded by land. A map’s color key defines how features are drawn.
- Weathering breaks down rock. Erosion moves rock or sediment; deposition leaves it in a new place. Several processes can occur in the same landscape.
- The timescale matters. Earth changes can occur quickly or accumulate gradually. Use the stated intervals, not a guess from how dramatic a picture looks.
- A solution should address the process causing damage. These paper proposals are simplified models. Real flooding or slope hazards require qualified local advice.
Useful vocabulary
- river
- flowing water channel
- weathering
- rock breaks into smaller material
- rapid
- change described over seconds or minutes
- plant cover
- roots and cover can help retain soil
Watch your reasoning
- Check what river and lake each mean. They describe different clues.
- Check what weathering and erosion each mean. They describe different clues.
- Check what rapid and gradual each mean. They describe different clues.
A worked review example
Worked reference-card problem: a card states “flowing water channel”; a second states “water body surrounded by land.” The first fits river and the second fits lake. The reason is the described function or change, not the order of the cards or a favorite name. If their descriptions exchange places, their category labels exchange too. Keep the supplied descriptions attached to the correct case. Worked reference-card problem: a card states “rock breaks into smaller material”; a second states “rock or sediment moves.” The first fits weathering and the second fits erosion. The reason is the described function or change, not the order of the cards or a favorite name. If their descriptions exchange places, their category labels exchange too. Keep the supplied descriptions attached to the correct case. Worked reference-card problem: a card states “change described over seconds or minutes”; a second states “change described over many years.” The first fits rapid and the second fits gradual. The reason is the described function or change, not the order of the cards or a favorite name. If their descriptions exchange places, their category labels exchange too. Keep the supplied descriptions attached to the correct case. Worked reference-card problem: a card states “roots and cover can help retain soil”; a second states “guides the supplied flowing water.” The first fits plant cover and the second fits channel. The reason is the described function or change, not the order of the cards or a favorite name. If their descriptions exchange places, their category labels exchange too. Keep the supplied descriptions attached to the correct case.
Make a practice plan
- Use an example from Read land and water features. Say what happens and point to the clue that helps explain it.
- Complete Distinguish weathering and erosion and correct the specific misconception in its feedback.
- Resolve a changed case from Compare fast and slow changes, then combine the four ideas in the transfer task.