Weathering, Erosion & Deposition

The Weathering, Erosion & Deposition Module includes 7 lessons derived from the Chemistry and the Life and Death of Baltimore’s Mountains Unit of Baltimore City Public School’s high school chemistry course. The module was developed as part of the Integrating Chemistry and Earth science (ICE) project. This module guides students in learning about and developing an understanding of the processes of physical and chemical weathering and the role of chemical compounds in preventing or accelerating the forces that cause the breakdown in natural and human-made materials. Students examine pothole formation and the consequences of the erosion of urban building materials on stream water quality.

The module also includes a modeling task for student sense-making with particular emphasis placed on supporting students' development of model-based explanations of the process of pothole formation in roads. The modeling tasks within the module prompt students to illustrate their understanding of how mechanical and/or chemical processes of weather and erosion cause changes in natural and human-made surfaces. Additionally, students are able to highlight how interactions between natural and human systems have reciprocal impacts on phenomena like pothole formation. The modeling task can be found in Lesson 2 below.

You can read more about the ICE project and the development of the Weathering, Erosion & Deposition module HERE

ICE Partners

Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, George Washington University, Baltimore City Public Schools

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #DRL-1721163.  Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.