👉 Watch the video of Sarah’s school science experiment here!
Hello parents, teachers and students! If you’re looking for fun way to explore weathering and geology, try making these erosion labs!
Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesdays when Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does the demonstrations and explains the science behind it.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Wet Sand
- A baking tray, propped up by a book or towel
- A pitcher of water
- A watering can of water
- A straw
- Ice cubes
DO THE EXPERIMENT
This experiment is best done outdoors for easier clean-up!
- STEP 1: Use the towel or book to prop up the baking tray and fill half of it with damp sand.
- STEP 2: Place a couple ice cubes into the sand on the edges of the baking tray
- STEP 3: By dragging your finger through the sand, create a “river” of space from the top of the tray to the bottom.
- STEP 4: Taking the pitcher of water, make a river of water flow through the riverbed you just made with your finger. Observe how the water washes some of the sediment to the bottom of the tray, making the riverbed larger
- STEP 5: Next, take a straw and blow holes into the sand at the top of the baking tray. You should notices that the sand flies up and all around the tray in different directions.
- STEP 6: Now, let’s make “rain”! Take the watering can and gently pour some water onto the tray. Watch as the sand is eroded and transported elsewhere.
- STEP 7: Let the ice cubes melt...they’ll make an imprint in the sand
HOW IT WORKS
This is a good example of weathering, erosion, and deposition
WEATHERING: Weathering is the process breaking apart rocks and formations by water and air to produce smaller rocks, sediment, sand, etc.. It’s what we did in the experiment with the water in the river and rain in the watering can, as well as the “wind” from the straw. Over time, the ice cubes melted and left dents in the sand. This represents weathering by glaciers.
EROSION: Erosion is also the process of breaking down rocks and formations, but includes transportation of the materials to a new place...like how the river of water moved the sand from the top of the baking sheet to the bottom.
DEPOSITION: Deposition is the placing of sediment in a new location. For example, the sand at the top of the tray was deposited to the bottom of the tray through the river we made. Also, sand grains were deposited in new locations by the wind we made through the straw.
SCIENCE WITH SARAH
If you’d like Sarah and David to come to your school and conduct a science experiment live on KSAT, email sciencewithsarah@ksat.com.
Parents and guardians: upload a video of your child performing the activity by clicking here. Send it in and you might see it on GMSA @ 9 a.m.!