Changes to the Earth's Surface — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 6 earth, rocks & weather worksheet.
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 6 · Science · Earth, Rocks & WeatherChanges to the Earth's Surface — Answers
Part A: A changing planet
Read the passage. Then circle the best answer.
The Earth's surface is always changing. Some changes are slow and take a very long time. Others are fast and happen in minutes, hours or days.
Weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces. Water, wind, ice and plant roots can all cause weathering. For example, water can seep into a crack and freeze. Ice takes up more space than water, so it pushes the crack wider.
Erosion is when pieces of rock and soil are moved to a new place by water, wind, ice or gravity. When they are dropped somewhere else, this is called deposition. Over a long time, rivers can carve deep valleys, and wind can build sand dunes.
Volcanoes are openings in the Earth's surface where melted rock, ash and gas come out. Melted rock underground is called magma; when it reaches the surface it is called lava. Lava cools and hardens into new rock, and can build new land.
The Earth's outer layer is broken into huge, slowly moving pieces called plates. An earthquake is a sudden shaking of the ground, often caused when rocks deep underground suddenly move. Earthquakes can crack the ground and cause landslides.
- AMoving rock and soil to a new place
- BBreaking rock down into smaller pieces
- CMelted rock coming out of a volcano
- DThe ground shaking
Answer: Breaking rock down into smaller pieces
Weathering breaks rocks into smaller pieces. Erosion is when those pieces are carried away.
- Aweathering
- Ban earthquake
- Cerosion
- Dan eruption
Answer: erosion
Moving rock pieces and soil from one place to another is erosion.
- AMelted rock that has reached the Earth's surface
- BRock broken by plant roots
- CSand dropped by the wind
- DIce inside a crack
Answer: Melted rock that has reached the Earth's surface
Melted rock underground is called magma. Once it comes out of a volcano it is called lava.
- Aa river slowly carving a valley
- Bwind wearing away a rock
- Cplant roots splitting a rock
- Dan earthquake
Answer: an earthquake
Earthquakes can change the land in minutes. The others take a very long time.
- ARoots grow into cracks and push rock apart.
- BLeaves make rocks melt.
- CFlowers make the ground shake.
- DSeeds turn rock into lava.
Answer: Roots grow into cracks and push rock apart.
As roots grow in cracks, they push and split the rock.
Part B: Key words
- weathering
- erosion
- deposition
- magma
- lava
- moving rock pieces and soil to a new place
- melted rock under the ground
- breaking rock into smaller pieces
- melted rock on the Earth's surface
- dropping rock pieces and soil in a new place
Answer: weathering → breaking rock into smaller pieces; erosion → moving rock pieces and soil to a new place; deposition → dropping rock pieces and soil in a new place; magma → melted rock under the ground; lava → melted rock on the Earth's surface
Answer: rock
Answer: more
Part C: True or false?
Write True or False.
Answer: True
They often take many, many years to change the shape of the land.
Answer: False
Weathering breaks rock down; erosion moves the pieces away.
Answer: True
Lava cools and hardens into new rock, which can build up land and even form new islands.
Answer: True
Plant roots hold the soil together so rain and wind carry less of it away.
Answer: False
Earthquakes can happen on land and under the sea.
Part D: Working scientifically: the erosion model
Try it outside with a grown-up — you only need sand, two trays, leaves and a cup of water.
Noah sets up two trays of damp sand, each propped up at one end to make a slope. One tray is bare. The other is covered with grass clippings or leaves. He slowly pours a cup of water at the top of each slope and collects the sand that washes off.
Answer: Slow: a river carving a valley; wind shaping a rock. Fast: a volcano erupting; a landslide; an earthquake.
Answer: Whether the sand has plants (grass or leaves) on top or is bare.
Answer: Any two of: the same amount of sand, the same tray and slope, the same amount of water, pouring from the same height in the same way.
Model answer: The bare sand will lose more sand, because nothing holds it in place, so the water washes it away (erosion). The covered tray will lose less because the plants protect the sand. This shows why plants help stop soil being washed off real hillsides when it rains.
Success criteria:
- Predicts the bare tray loses more
- Explains using erosion and what holds the sand in place
- Links the model to real hillsides
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.
Great work. Here's what to try next: