Glaciers, wind and landslides reshape the land

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. What shape does a glacier scour a valley into, by Ari's reading (NPS)?

    • A V shape, narrow at the bottom
    • A flat plain with no sides
    • A U shape
    • A round crater
  2. What shape does a river cut a valley into, by Bo's reading (NPS)?

    Use the picture in question 1.

    • A V shape
    • A flat-topped mesa
    • A bowl-shaped cirque
    • A U shape
  3. What is a cirque, by Kira's reading (NPS)?

    • A V-shaped river valley
    • A rounded, steep-sided bowl carved at a glacier's head
    • A ridge of rock dumped at a glacier's end
    • A pile of windblown sand
  4. What carves striations into bedrock, by Jun's reading (NPS)?

    • Ice-borne rocks scraping bedrock
    • Soil creeping downhill over it
    • A river cutting a V
    • Wind blowing sand across it for years
  5. NPS: when melting equals snow buildup, what does a glacier's face do, by Luz's reading?

    • It stays in place, though the ice keeps flowing
    • It retreats quickly
    • It advances quickly because the ice flows downhill faster
    • Its ice stops flowing
  6. NPS: a glacier's face advances when more snow and ice build up than melt. What happens when melting wins, by Milo's reading?

    Use the picture in question 5.

    • The face retreats, though the ice still flows downhill
    • The face advances faster
    • The ice starts flowing uphill
    • The ice stops moving entirely
  7. What are ventifacts, by Ren's reading (USGS)?

    • Hollows dug out by the wind
    • Ridges left by glaciers
    • Rocks that tumbled down from steep cliffs above
    • Rocks cut and polished by wind-driven sand
  8. What is mass wasting, by Tala's reading (NPS)?

    • Rock dissolving in rain
    • Wind carrying fine dust across a desert floor
    • Rock and soil moving downhill by gravity
    • Ice carving a U-shaped valley
  9. What is creep, by Zee's reading (USGS)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • A sudden drop of rock from a steep cliff onto the slope below
    • A fast flow like wet cement
    • Wind moving sand up a dune
    • Very slow, steady downslope movement of soil or rock
  10. Which signs show creep on a slope, by Esme's reading (USGS)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • Curved tree trunks, tilted poles and small soil ripples
    • Fresh boulders at a cliff's base
    • Polished, wind-cut rocks
    • Scratches on bare bedrock
PencilGopencilgo.com

Glaciers, wind and landslides reshape the land

Answer Key - Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

  1. What shape does a glacier scour a valley into, by Ari's reading (NPS)?

    • A V shape, narrow at the bottom
    • A flat plain with no sides
    • A U shape
    • A round crater
  2. What shape does a river cut a valley into, by Bo's reading (NPS)?

    Use the picture in question 1.

    • A V shape
    • A flat-topped mesa
    • A bowl-shaped cirque
    • A U shape
  3. What is a cirque, by Kira's reading (NPS)?

    • A V-shaped river valley
    • A rounded, steep-sided bowl carved at a glacier's head
    • A ridge of rock dumped at a glacier's end
    • A pile of windblown sand
  4. What carves striations into bedrock, by Jun's reading (NPS)?

    • Ice-borne rocks scraping bedrock
    • Soil creeping downhill over it
    • A river cutting a V
    • Wind blowing sand across it for years
  5. NPS: when melting equals snow buildup, what does a glacier's face do, by Luz's reading?

    • It stays in place, though the ice keeps flowing
    • It retreats quickly
    • It advances quickly because the ice flows downhill faster
    • Its ice stops flowing
  6. NPS: a glacier's face advances when more snow and ice build up than melt. What happens when melting wins, by Milo's reading?

    Use the picture in question 5.

    • The face retreats, though the ice still flows downhill
    • The face advances faster
    • The ice starts flowing uphill
    • The ice stops moving entirely
  7. What are ventifacts, by Ren's reading (USGS)?

    • Hollows dug out by the wind
    • Ridges left by glaciers
    • Rocks that tumbled down from steep cliffs above
    • Rocks cut and polished by wind-driven sand
  8. What is mass wasting, by Tala's reading (NPS)?

    • Rock dissolving in rain
    • Wind carrying fine dust across a desert floor
    • Rock and soil moving downhill by gravity
    • Ice carving a U-shaped valley
  9. What is creep, by Zee's reading (USGS)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • A sudden drop of rock from a steep cliff onto the slope below
    • A fast flow like wet cement
    • Wind moving sand up a dune
    • Very slow, steady downslope movement of soil or rock
  10. Which signs show creep on a slope, by Esme's reading (USGS)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • Curved tree trunks, tilted poles and small soil ripples
    • Fresh boulders at a cliff's base
    • Polished, wind-cut rocks
    • Scratches on bare bedrock