S6E5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to show how Earth’s surface is formed.

a. Ask questions to compare and contrast the Earth’s crust, mantle, inner and outer core, including temperature, density, thickness, and composition.

b. Plan and carry out an investigation of the characteristics of minerals and how minerals contribute to rock composition.

c. Construct an explanation of how to classify rocks by their formation and how rocks change through geologic processes in the rock cycle.

d. Ask questions to identify types of weathering, agents of erosion and transportation, and environments of deposition. (Clarification statement: Environments of deposition include deltas, barrier islands, beaches, marshes, and rivers.)

e. Develop a model to demonstrate how natural processes (weathering, erosion, and deposition) and human activity change rocks and the surface of the Earth.

f. Construct an explanation of how the movement of lithospheric plates, called plate tectonics, can cause major geologic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. (Clarification statement: Include convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries.)

g. Construct an argument using maps and data collected to support a claim of how fossils show evidence of the changing surface and climate of the Earth.