Rivers, weather and the water cycle
Make a river in a tray
Does a steeper slope make a river cut a deeper channel?
Watch first
Follow a drop of water as it rises, makes clouds and falls as rain.
What you need
Tick each one as you find it — 0 of 5 ready.
Stay safe: Do this outside or over a sink. Wash your hands afterwards, especially if you used soil.
Plan the fair test
- Change: How steep the slope is (one book or three)
- Measure: How deep and wide the channel is, and where sand is dropped
- Keep the same: Same sand, same amount of water, poured from the same height at the same speed
Objectives this evidences
- Describe and understand key aspects of physical geography, including climate zones, biomes and vegetation belts, rivers, mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes, and the water cycle
Do it, one step at a time
Step 1 of 5
- Step 1. Fill the tray with damp sand and raise one end on a single book. Smooth the surface.
- Step 2. Pour water slowly and steadily from the top and photograph the channel it cuts.
- Step 3. Measure how deep and how wide the channel is, and note where the sand is dropped at the bottom.
- Step 4. Smooth the sand flat, raise the end on three books, and pour exactly the same amount of water the same way.
- Step 5. Measure again and compare the two channels, with photographs side by side.
What should happen
The steeper slope makes faster water that cuts a deeper, straighter channel and carries sand further before dropping it.
Think about: Where in a real river valley would you expect the steep part, and where would you expect the dropped material?
Write up your result
A sentence or two is enough to save it.
The lessons behind this practical
Each one opens with the same short film, and the film has a written transcript underneath if reading is easier than watching.
Now the quiz for this topic
Questions come from the lessons behind this practical, so nothing is asked that has not been taught.
Quiz
Rivers, weather and the water cycle quiz
4 questions from the lessons in this stage. No timer, and you can try again as many times as you like.