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6th Grade Earth Science- Benchmark 4
1) The process of breaking down rock is called:
(a) erosion.
(b) deposition.
(c) weathering.
(d) sedimentation.
2) Weathering breaks rock into bits and pieces called:
(a) bedding.
(b) sediment.
(c) crystals.
(d) meanders.
3) All of the following are natural hazards related to plate tectonics EXCEPT:
(a) earthquakes.
(b) volcanic eruptions.
(c) forest fires.
(d) tsunamis.
4) A small, fast-moving river is in a V-shaped valley on the slope of a mountain. If
you follow the river to where it passes through a plain, what will the river most
likely look like compared with how it looked on the mountain?
(a) Much the same
(b) Deeper and faster
(c) Slower and wider
(d) Straighter
5) Which is MOST LIKELY to make a rock break open?
(a) dew evaporating on the rock
(b) tree leaves decaying on the rock
(c) snow melting in a crack in the rock
(d) water freezing in a crack in the rock
6) The picture above shows two different mountains. The mountains in picture A
are rough and jagged. The mountains in Picture B are rounded and smooth.
What statement about these mountains is probably true?
(a) The mountains in Picture A are older.
(b) The mountains in Picture B are older.
(c) The mountains are about the same age but were formed in different ways.
(d) The mountains are about the same age but are in different hemispheres.
7) What event would cause the most change to the course of this river?
(a) a drought
(b) normal rain
(c) a flood
(d) rivers don’t change
8) Which of these earth materials would be deposited first by a fast-moving
stream when it reached the ocean?
(a) clay
(b) sand
(c) gravel
(d) humus
9) Where does most sand on beaches come from?
(a) Waves push it up from the bottom of the ocean.
(b) It comes from the weathering of rocks underneath the sand
(c) Winds blow it to the beach from nearby deserts.
(d) Rivers carry it down from mountains.
10) The canyon in the picture above was formed by
(a) an earthquake.
(b) a meteor.
(c) water erosion.
(d) a volcanic eruption
11) Which is not an example of erosion?
(a) wind moving sand dunes
(b) a glacier moving large boulders
(c) tree roots cracking rocks.
(d) ocean waves moving sand down a beach
12) Which natural occurrence would require the most time for results to be
noticed?
(a) A tidal wave washing away a pier
(b) A river carving out a canyon
(c) A lake flooding its banks
(d) An ocean tide going out
For question 13
Zion National Park in Colorado is a showcase of geology. Zion was a relatively
flat basin near sea level 240 million years ago. Streams carried sediment - sand,
gravel, and mud - from nearby mountains and deposited them in layers in Zion.
The weight of these layers caused them to sink, so that the top layer was always
close to sea level. Water carrying minerals filtered through these layers. Iron
oxide, calcium carbonate, and silica acted as glue and, with the help of the
pressure from the overlaying layers, turned the sediments into stone. Forces
from deep inside Earth pushed large blocks of Zion’s surface up over millions of
years. Its elevation reached 10,000 feet above sea level, and this process is still
occurring. This higher elevation causes streams to move faster on their way to
the ocean, wearing away the face of the rock. Zion’s streams have cut into rock
layers, forming many deep and narrow canyons.
13) Which force did NOT shape the geography of
Zion National Park?
(a) Erosion
(b) Uplift
(c) Volcanoes
(d) Sedimentation
14) Why are some rocks smoother and rounder than others?
A. They have the shapes of the minerals from which they are made.
B. They were smoothed by the action of the wind and water.
C. They were squeezed up through the soil.
D. They hardened in rounded pockets of soil.
15) For Beth’s science project, she got a box, filled it with sand, and put a fan at
one end of the box. When she turned on the fan, the sand was blown around.
What type of natural process was Beth trying to model?
A. continental drift
B. earthquake
C. erosion
D. volcano
16) Which statement about mountains BEST describes the surface of Earth over
time?
(a) Flat surfaces are gradually pushed together into higher mountains until
Earth is covered with mountains.
(b) Mountains gradually erode until most of Earth is at sea level.
(c) Mountains gradually erode, and new mountains are continuously formed.
(d) Mountains and plains stay side-by-side for billions of years with little
change.
17) Lily found four rocks of the same material in a riverbed. They had different
shapes and sizes.
Rock A
Rock C
Rock D
Rock B
Which rock has MOST LIKELY been carried the farthest down the river?
A. Rock A
B. Rock B
C. Rock C
D. Rock D
18) The pictures below show the how the Earth’s surface changed over time in
one particular place.
Picture A
Picture B
How long did it MOST LIKELY take for the final geological formation shown in
Picture B to be created?
A. a few years
B. five hundred years
C. five thousand years
D. millions of years
19) Which type of natural hazard is LEAST likely to occur in California?
(a) A hurricane
(b) A wildfire
(c) An earthquake
(d) A flood
20) Which type of natural hazard is driven by energy from the Sun?
(a) Volcanoes
(b) Hurricanes
(c) Earthquakes
(d) Tsunamis
Open Ended Question
Three friends were exploring some sand dunes in the desert. They looked closely
at the sand and noticed it was made up of tiny particles of rock. They had
different ideas about where the sand came from.
Molly: “I think the sand came from distant mountains.”
Fidel: “I think the sand comes out of the ground where there are faults”
Lynn: “I think the sand was always here”
Xavier: “I think the sand erupted out of a volcano”
Which friend do you agree with and why? Explain your thinking about how the
sand formed and ended up in the desert.
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Answer Key1) C
2) B
3) C
4) C
5) D
6) B
7) C
8) C
9) D
10) C
11) C
12) B
13) C
14) B
15) C
16) C
17) B
18) D
19) A
20) B
Rubric for Open Ended
4- High
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3- Medium High
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2- Medium Low
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1- Low
Molly is right
Student knows that rocks were broken down by
weathering.
Student knows that sand was transported to the
dunes by erosion, either wind or water
Molly is right
Either weathering or erosion is described but not
both
Molly is right
No coherent explanation is given
Someone other than Molly is right