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  1. 2nd Grade Science

  3. How Fast Does Earth Change?

2ND GRADE SCIENCE • EARTH'S SYSTEMS

How Fast Does Earth Change?

Let's explore why some things on Earth change in just a few seconds, while other changes take thousands of years!

SECTION 1

What's Happening?

🔍 LOOK AT THIS!

The wave changed your sandcastle very quickly. The waves changed the cliff very slowly. Both changes happened because of water — but one was fast and one was slow!

CLIFF🐢 SLOWThousands of years⚡ FASTJust one second!
A beach scene showing a wave knocking over a sandcastle quickly, and tall cliffs being slowly worn down by water over many years.
💭 THINKING QUESTIONS
SECTION 2

What Scientists Know

Earth is always changing! Some changes happen in a flash. Other changes happen so slowly that you might not even notice them. Let's learn about the two kinds of Earth changes.

1

Fast Earth Events ⚡

Some things change Earth very quickly. A volcano can erupt and cover the land with hot lava in just minutes. An earthquake can shake the ground and crack roads in seconds! These fast events can change how the land looks right away.
2

Slow Earth Events 🐢

Some things change Earth very slowly. Erosion (that means water or wind slowly wearing away rock and soil) can take thousands of years to carve out a canyon. A river slowly makes its path deeper over a very, very long time.
✦ KEY TAKEAWAY
KEY TAKEAWAY
SECTION 3

Let's Investigate!

Scientists look at evidence (that means clues) to learn about how Earth changes. Let's try an easy activity to see fast and slow changes with our own eyes!

What you need

A small pile of sand or dirt, a cup of water, a spray bottle with water, and a tray or pan.

Step 1

Make a little hill of sand on the tray.

Step 2 — Slow change

Use the spray bottle to gently mist the hill 5 times. What do you see? Does the hill change a little?

Step 3 — Fast change

Now pour the whole cup of water on the hill all at once. What happens to the hill?

Step 4

Look at the hill now. Talk about what changed slowly and what changed quickly!
The Sand Hill Test🐢 SLOW CHANGESpray bottle — gentle mistThe hill barely changed!≈A tiny bit of sand moved.⚡ FAST CHANGECup of water — big pourThe hill is almost flat!💥Lots of sand washed away fast!
The Sand Hill Test: comparing slow change (spray bottle) with fast change (cup of water).
SECTION 4

What We Discovered

When we poured a whole cup of water, the sand hill washed away right away. That is like a flood or a landslide — a fast Earth event! When we used the spray bottle, only a tiny bit of sand moved. If we sprayed it every day for a very long time, the hill would slowly get smaller. That is like erosion — a slow Earth event!

Scientists use evidence (clues from looking and testing) to figure out if an Earth event was fast or slow. Here are some clues they look for:

⚡ Fast Events🐢 Slow Events
Earthquake — ground shakes in secondsErosion — water wears away rock over many years
Volcanic eruption — lava flows in minutesWeathering — wind and rain slowly break down rock
Landslide — dirt and rocks slide down fastRiver carving — a river makes a canyon over thousands of years
Flood — water covers land quicklyMountain building — mountains grow very slowly over millions of years
How Long Do Earth Events Take?SECONDSHOURSYEARSMILLIONS OF YEARS🌋EarthquakeShakes forseconds!⚡🔥Volcanic EruptionLava flows forhours to days⚡🏖️ErosionWears away formany years🐢🏔️MountainsGrow formillionsof years🐢⚡ Fast Events🐢 Slow EventsWhat's the same?Both fast and slow events change the shape of Earth's land.Wind, water, ice, and heat can all cause these changes.Scientists use evidence to learn about both kinds!
How Long Do Earth Events Take? — Fast events (seconds to hours) vs. slow events (years to millions of years).
SECTION 5

Do You See the Pattern?

Some things stay the same for a long time, and some things change. When things change, they can change fast or slow. This is a big pattern in science! Let's look at examples:

Where?⚡ Fast Change🐢 Slow Change
Earth's landEarthquake cracks the groundWind slowly wears down a mountain
WaterA big flood covers a townA river slowly carves a canyon
WeatherA tornado knocks down treesYears of rain makes a cave
Your yardA big storm breaks a tree branchGrass slowly grows through a crack

See the pattern? In every place, some changes are fast and some are slow. Scientists call this Stability and Change. It means that some things stay the same (that is stability) and some things change — and changes can happen at different speeds.

✦ KEY TAKEAWAY
KEY TAKEAWAY
SECTION 6

Science in the Real World

People use what they know about fast and slow Earth changes to stay safe and to solve problems!

1

🏗️ Building Strong Houses

Engineers build houses and buildings that can stay standing during earthquakes. They know earthquakes happen fast, so they make buildings that can shake without falling down.
2

🌊 Stopping Erosion

People plant trees and grass near rivers and beaches. The roots of the plants hold the soil in place so water cannot wash it away as fast. This helps protect the land from slow erosion.
🧑‍🔬 Think like an engineer
SECTION 7

Key Vocabulary

  • Erosion — When water, wind, or ice slowly wears away rock or soil and moves it to a new place.
  • Earthquake — When the ground shakes very quickly. This is a fast Earth event.
  • Volcanic eruption — When hot melted rock (lava) comes out of a volcano. This happens fast.
  • Evidence — Clues that help us learn what happened. Scientists look at evidence to explain things.
  • Landslide — When rocks and dirt slide quickly down a hill or mountain.
SECTION 8

Show What You Know!

PROBLEM 1 — WARM-UP
A scientist is studying a cliff near the ocean. She notices that over many, many years, the waves have worn away pieces of the rock. What kind of Earth event is this?
PROBLEM 2 — BUILDING SKILLS
A family sees a news report about a mudslide that happened after a big rainstorm. The mud and rocks slid down a hill in just a few minutes. Which piece of evidence best shows this is a fast Earth event?
PROBLEM 3 — CHALLENGE
Marcus looks at two pictures of the same riverbank. The first picture was taken 50 years ago and shows a wide, grassy bank. The second picture was taken this year and shows that the bank is much narrower. What most likely caused this slow change?
PROBLEM 4 — EXPERT
Layla's teacher shows the class a chart that lists four Earth events: a volcano erupting, a canyon forming, sand dunes slowly shifting, and an earthquake. Which answer correctly sorts these events into fast and slow groups?
SECTION 9

What's Next?

🔮 WHAT'S NEXT?
SUMMARY

What We Learned

Varsity Tutors • 2nd Grade Science (NGSS) • Earth Events: Fast and Slow Changes