ANSWER  KEY  
Grade  Six:  Weathering  and  Erosion  
Post  Test  
 
Multiple  Choice:  (4  points  each)  
Directions:  Please  circle  the  best  answer.  
 
1. The  movement  of  rock  particles  by  ice,  wind,  water,  or  gravity  is  called  ________B___________.  
a. weathering  
b. erosion  
c. deposition  
d. sedimentary  
 
2. The  actions  of  animals  most  commonly  can  cause  the  type  of  weathering  known  as  ______A_______.  
a. mechanical  weathering  
b. chemical  weathering  
c. general  weathering  
d. electrical  weathering  
 
3. After  chemical  weathering,  what  happens  to  the  chemical  makeup  of  the  weathered  rock?    B  
a. The  rock  stays  the  same.  
b. The  rock  changes  form.  
c. The  rock  gets  larger.  
d. The  rock  disappears.    
 
4. In  the  1930’s  an  area  in  the  southern  Plains  states  was  named  the  _______C________  because  the  
topsoil  turned  to  dust.    
a. Rose  Bowl  
b. Super  Bowl  
c. Dust  Bowl  
d. Water  Bowl  
 
5. The  process  by  which  natural  forces  move  weathered  rock  and  soil  from  one  place  and  deposit  in  
another  is  called  _______B_____________.  
a. soil  conservation  
b. deposition  
c. abrasion  
d. erosion  
 
6. A  ridge  of  till  located  at  the  farthest  point  reached  by  a  glacier  is  called  a  ___________C____________.  
a. mountain  
b. valley  
c. terminal  moraine  
d. flood  plain  

6.D  Post  Assessment:    Weathering  and  Erosion     1  

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7. Where  a  coastline  turns  and  interrupts  longshore  drift,  sand  may  be  deposited  in  a  fingerlike  
landform  called  a  __________A______________.  
a. spit  
b. barrier  beach  
c. sandbar  
d. headland  
 
8. Landslides,  mudflows,  slumps,  like  La  Conchita,  and  creeps  are  all  examples  of________C_________.    
a. mechanical  weathering  
b. runoff  
c. mass  movement  
d. soil  formation  
 
9. The  energy  that  produces  ocean  waves  comes  from________C_________.    
a. the  rise  and  fall  of  the  tides.    
b. rivers  flowing  into  the  ocean.  
c. wind  blowing  across  the  water’s  surface.    
d. rock  falling  into  the  ocean  along  the  shore.    
 
10. As  more  water  flows  through  a  river,  its  speed  will_________B________.    
a. stay  the  same  
b. increase  
c. decrease  
d. reduce  friction  between  the  water  and  the  streambed  
 
11. During  the  Dust  Bowl,  wind  deposited  surface  materials  in  a  new  location  by_________C________.    
a. abrasion  
b. plucking  
c. saltation  
d. inflation  
 
12. The  process  in  which  rock  fragments  freeze  to  the  bottom  of  a  glacier  and  then  are  carried  away  
when  the  glacier  moves  is  called__________A_______.    
a. plucking  
b. surging  
c. valley  widening  
d. abrasion  
 
13. Wind  carrying  sand  grains  deposits  the  sand  when  the  wind______C___________.    
a. speeds  up  
b. crosses  a  depression  in  the  ground  
c. slows  down  or  hits  an  obstacle  
d. cools  after  nightfall  
 
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14. The  most  significant  factor  that  changes  California’s  landscape  is  __________B_______.    
a. glaciers  
b. water  
c. wind  
d. animals  
 
15. What  kind  of  weathering  causes  the  minerals  of  the  rocks  to  change?      C  
a. mechanical  weathering  
b. permeable  weathering  
c. chemical  weathering  
d. general  weathering  
 
Justified  Multiple  Choice  (4  points  each)  
Directions:  Please  circle  the  best  answer  and  explain  why  it  is  the  best  answer  using  science  terms  for  
questions  16-­‐18.    
 
16. A  rock  containing  iron  becomes  soft  and  crumbly  and  reddish-­‐brown  in  color.  It  probably  has  been  
chemically  weathered  by      C  
a. abrasion  
b. carbon  dioxide  
c. oxygen  
d. acid  rain  
 
Science  “reason:”(1  point)  _________Oxidation  -­  Rust____________________________________________________  
 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
 
17. How  could  a  fast-­‐flowing  river  be  most  likely  to  move  sand-­‐sized  particles  of  sediment?      A  
a. It  would  lift  them  and  carry  them  downstream.  
b. It  would  dissolve  them  completely  in  solution.  
c. It  would  roll  or  slide  them  along  the  streambed.  
d. It  would  deposit  them  on  the  streambed.    
 
Science  “reason:”(1  point)  _________sand  particles  are  light  enough  to  be  carried  by  the  
river_______  
 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
 
18.  Mass  movement  is  cause  by_______________B_____________.  
a. plucking  and  abrasion  
b. gravity  
c. chemical  weathering  
d. erosion  and  deposition  
6.D  Post  Assessment:    Weathering  and  Erosion     3  
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Give  an  example  from  a  lab:  (1  point)  _  Such  as  Glaciers;  Get  Eroded;  La  Conchita;  Erosion    
Task  Assessment__________________________________________________________________________________________  
 
Open  Response  
Directions:  Please  answer  the  following  questions  in  the  space  provided.  All  answers  should  be  in  
complete  sentences.  You  may  use  diagrams  to  help  explain  your  answers.    
 
19.    

a. What  happened  in  the  image  above?  (2  points)  

 
Landslide  at  La  Conchita  
 
 
b. What  conditions  caused  this  to  occur?  (3  points)  
Lots  of  rain;  steep  slope;  gravity  pulled  down;  mud;  landslide  
    (1  point  for  anything  answered)  
 
 
c. Cite  evidence  from  the  lab  to  explain  how  you  know  what  happened.  (2  points)  
 
Added  water  to  material  in  a  steep  slope    (1  point  for  anything  answered)  
 
 
 
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20. Erosion  can  cause  a  river  or  a  landslide.  (6  points)  
 
a. How  is  erosion  the  same  for  both  a  river  and  a  landslide  like  La  Conchita?    (3  points)  
 
Both  carry  sediment;    water;  sediment  carried  from  high  to  low;  gravity  pulls  down  
 
b. How  is  erosion  different  for  both  a  river  and  a  landslide  like  La  Conchita?  (3  points)  
La  Conchita  is  a  landslide  created  by  rain  loosening  the  hillside;  the  sediment  eroded  is  
part  of  the  hillside;  once  the  rain  stops  it  will  dry  out.      
A  river  source  of  water  is  created  in  the  mountains;  it  carries  the  sediment  from  high  in  
the  mountains  to  a  lower  location;  it  erodes  along  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  river.  
 
21. In  the  space  provided  below  create  a  story  about  a  rock  that  has  undergone  weathering  and  has  
been  moved  via  the  process  of  erosion.  Your  rock’s  journey  will  begin  at  the  top  of  a  tall  mountain  
and  end  at  a  beach  on  a  distant  ocean.  Answer  the  following  questions  in  your  comic  strip.  (12  
points)    (example  given,  student  responses  may  vary,  but  have  the  same  general  idea)  
a. How  did  your  rock  get  from  the  mountain  to  the  ocean?  
b. How  has  the  rock  changed?  
c. What  forces  caused  the  rock  to  change?  
 
You  must  include  a  picture  and  written  explanation  for  each  box.  

1.  Mountain  with  rock   2.    Snow  and  freezing   3.    Rain  washes  into  river  
break  the  rock  apart  

4.    River  rolls  the  rock,   5.    Edges  of  rocks  wear  down   6.    Tiny  pieces  of  rock  
bouncing  and  breaking  into   and  become  rounded;  keeps   deposited  on  beaches  at  the  
smaller  pieces   breaking  into  smaller  pieces   ocean  

6.D  Post  Assessment:    Weathering  and  Erosion     5  

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