Name MelissaCamacho
Submitted on 10/19/2005 2:32:05 PM
Topic: ES
McLure, John W. (1990). Understanding #4: The Weathering of Rocks: Three Activities. Science Activities, V. 28, 23-27.
Summary
In this activity, the author uses three activities that explains the effects of weathering of rocks. To introduce the first activity the author talks about the Sahara desert and the sounds of the rocks contracting. Then the author provides an activity to simulate the effects of freezing and thawing of rocks. In doing the activity, you must have rocks such as granite and feldspar, ice-cream containers and a heating source. The procedure was to weigh the rocks before the freezing them weigh the rocks after freezing and weigh the rocks after heating. During the activity the students will record the temperatures and repeat the freezing and thawing process to observe the changes of the rocks. Activity two involves wind erosion. With this activity the students use a metal pole, fan, and sand to observe the effects of a sandstorm. The students will observe the pole to see if the paint is wearing off because of the fan. For activity three, the students learn the effects of weathering on tombstones. The students go to a cemetery and compare the texture of different stones. They observe how the rain, sun and winds effect the stones. After their observations the students discuss their observations.
Reaction
I liked how the activities provide visuals to explain the effects of weathering. The sand activity explains weathering very well in showing how sand can do damage. However, the activities do not get the students to compare the changes or even make predictions before the experiment and compare their data. I would like to do the activity because I feel it does have the propensity to be a learning cycle lesson for the students.