By:

Nate Quan

My Problem Which element between wind or water causes more

erosion on mountains? I am going to test which element between wind or water can erode a model of a mountain the quickest.

My Notefacts Notefacts

Scholastic Atlas of Earth-

-Waves hit rocks constantly causing them to get fragile.

-Waves also erode sand by carrying it to shore.

-Wing erosion creates all the deserts by carving rock bit by bit.

-Wind carries away soil, grains, and rock.

-Cliffs collapse as waves wear down them.

-Mountains are Earth’s highest landforms.

-The longest mountain range is 40,000 miles.

-Mountains are huge pieces of rock that are way higher than land.

-Another way mountains form is when an oceanic plate meets a continental plate.

My Notefacts (Cont.) Structure of the Earth (handout)-

-Earth’s crust sometimes starts squeezing together.

-Squeezing together causes the Earth’s to fold pushing upwards causing mountains.

-A lot of mountain ranges were formed by the slow movement in Earth’s crust.

-Mountains also form when Earth’s tectonic plates push upward or crack.

Eyewitness Books Earth

-Waterfalls mark places where erosion takes place.

-Waves were formed by wind blowing over water so waves depend on wind.

-The shapes of cliffs depend on how tough the rock is and how hard waves pound.

-Mountains show layers of sediment that have been folded.

-Geologists use machines to represent simplified mountain ranges because it is hard to understand how real mountain ranges form.

-The process that builds mountains is called orogenisis.

-When geologists use the machines to model mountains, they use paper, sand, and sediment.

Bibliography Bibliography

-Earth. New York: DK Publishing Inc., 2005. Print.

-Scholastic atlas of Earth. New York, NY: Scholastic Reference, 2005. Print.

-The Structure of the Earth. Options Publishing Inc., Grade 5

My Hypothesis If we exposed a mountain to the same amount of wind

and water, then wind would wear down a mountain faster because wind can have a greater impact on rocks by breaking them down bit by bit. On the other hand, waters’ effect is slower on rocks.

My Materials for my ExperimentWater

My Materials for my ExperimentWatering Can

My Materials for my ExperimentFeature Comforts Fan

My Materials for my ExperimentClay

My Materials for my ExperimentMiracle Gro Garden Soil

My Materials for my ExperimentStopwatch

My Materials for my ExperimentViva Towels

My Materials for my Experiment2 Plastic Containers

My Procedure for My Experiment First, you build up 2 clay models of mountains on a

plastic container. Second, you lay dirt over the clay models. Third, sprinkle water on one of the mountains and measure how long it takes to erode the soil away. Perform this test 3 times and if the water (or wind) doesn’t erode the soil completely at the end of 5 minutes just record 300+ (in seconds). Fourth do the same test for wind 3 times and record. Finally, clean up and chart your results to develop your final conclusion.

My Experiment

My Models I used modeling clay to make 2 mountains. Here are

some pictures on how I made my models:

Testing Wind on My Models of Mountains (Trial 1)During the Trial After the Trial

Testing Wind on My Models of Mountains (Trial 2)During the Trial After the Trial

Testing Wind on My Models of Mountains (Trial 3)During the Trial After the Trial

Testing Water on My Models of Mountains (Trial 1)During the Trial After the Trial

Testing Water on My Models of Mountains (Trial 2)During the Trial After the Trial

Testing Water on My Models of Mountains (Trial 3)During the Trial After the Trial

Results/Graph (Wind is 300+ on all of the trials)

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Water

Wind

Seconds it takes to Erode themountain

Trial 3

Trial 2

Trial 1

ConclusionIn my experiment, water wore down my model of a

mountain faster. Wind has a hard time wearing down a mountain faster because about every five seconds the wind only eroded a grain of soil in my observations. The wind did not have a stronger force than water did. Water had a constant impact on the soil.

My hypothesis was incorrect. I thought wind erosion had a stronger effect on the clay mountains. My hypothesis was overturned and water won by a landslide. I thought the wind would just blow off all the soil easily.