Weathering and Erosion Lab

Station 1

• Students placed vinegar (an acid) on powdered calcium carbonate and watched bubbles form as a sign of a chemical reaction. This station is designed to demonstrate chemical weathering of limestone due to acid rain, such as in the Hill Country region.

Station 2

• Before After» Wave action on beaches

Station 3

• Students used straws to blow sediments. They discovered that sand is much easier to move than pebbles.

Station 4

• Erosion of a river valley• Before After

Deposition in a delta

Erosion of sediment forming river valley

Station 5

• Mechanical weathering through freezing and thawing. Marbles were repeatedly boiled and cooled in ice water.

Station 6Salt is place d in the bottom of the inner cup, which has a hole in the bottom. Then, water is poured over the top, drips through the salt dissolving some, and into the bottom cup as a solution. This represents the dissolving of rock in water that flows underground and is deposited in cave formations.

Station 7Before Weathering After Weathering

Students used a toothbrush to simulate wind erosion due to abrasion on the cliffs of the Palo Duro Canyon

Talus slope