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DISCUSS:
Here’s a close-up of one of the trees before they removed it. What do you think is going on here? What do you think happened to the pyramid?
treebeforeremoval

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DISCUSS:

Has anyone ever told you not to put a can of soda in the freezer? Why do you think people say this?

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DISCUSS:

Can you think of some experiments you could do to figure out what happens to a rock as it tumbles downhill?

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Extend this lesson

Assessments

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Demonstration: The Mighty Beans

beansbefore

Use dried beans to demonstrate the power of seeds. Put beans into a paper or plastic cup until it’s about one quarter full. Add water until all the beans are completely covered. Set another cup on top, and add pennies (or other weights) so the cup presses down on the beans. Make a line with a marker to show the cup’s position.

Wait an hour, then check on your beans. (For the “after” photo, see next slide.)

Demonstration: The Mighty Beans (after)

beansafter

Dried beans are seeds — you can plant them and grow a bean plant. When you add water to dried dried beans, they start soaking up the water and swelling as they get ready to grow.

This is the first step in root wedging -- getting bigger and pushing against the surrounding rock. The beans in this cup lifted the weight of many pennies when they swelled.

mountain

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a high area of land with steep sides

weathering

2 of 8

the process of breaking rocks into smaller pieces

root wedging

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a process where a root growing causes rock to break apart

freeze

4 of 8

when a liquid turns into a solid, such as when water turns to ice

ice wedging

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a process where water freezing and expanding causes rock to break apart

erosion

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when tiny bits of rock are moved from one location to another by water, wind, ice, or gravity

Video trouble?

model

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a pretend version of something that scientists use when the real thing is too big, small, or complicated to work with

experiment

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a test used to discover new information about a question

Image & Video Credits

Mystery Science respects the intellectual property rights of the owners of visual assets. We make every effort to use images and videos under appropriate licenses from the owner or by reaching out to the owner to get explicit permission. If you are the owner of a visual and believe we are using it without permission, please contact us—we will reply promptly and make things right.

Lesson Image

El Capitan by Octagon , used under CC BY

Exploration

Everest by Luca Galuzzi , used under CC BY-SA

space view by NASA

Halfdome by Scott Catron , used under CC BY-SA

Mt. San Jacinto by Wattewyl , used under CC BY

Great Pyramid of Giza by Wknight94 , used under CC BY-SA

Chichen Itza by Christine Zenino , used under CC BY

light brick wall by Titus Tscharntke

Complejo Danta by Ronyrocael , used under CC BY-SA

El Mirador by Geoff Gallice , used under CC BY

Copan ruins by Matthias Hiltner , used under CC BY

Puna lava flow by DVIDSHUB , used under CC BY

Annona Atemoya seeds by takoradee , used under CC BY-SA

cement texture by Titus Tscharntke

El Tigre pyramid by Dennis Jarvis , used under CC BY-SA

Temple of Nohoch Mul by Vin Crosbie , used under CC BY-ND

pavement by Simon Law , used under CC BY-SA

sidewalk & tree roots by Doug Caldwell , used under CC BY

cracked brick wall by debs-eye , used under CC BY

refrigerator by Juan de Vojníkov , used under CC BY-SA

soda can by Ryan McGilchrist , used under CC BY-SA

frozen soda can by William Brawley , used under CC BY

explosion in freezer by mrsparks , used under CC BY-SA

frozen bottle by baronsquirrel , used under CC BY

broken rock by Till Niermann , used under CC BY-SA

weathered rock by Natursicilia , used under CC BY-SA

rock parts by Lamiot , used under CC BY

Mount Hood by Thomas Shahan , used under CC BY

Mont Saint Honorat by Zil , used under CC BY-SA

jagged rocks by Peretz Partensky , used under CC BY-SA

Nuna Island by Kim Hansen , used under CC BY-SA

Activity

horses by Ben Salter , used under CC BY

pencil by Charm

Other

pebble beach by Paul Allison , used under CC BY-SA

Credits

“The children loved seeing the pyramids and the effects of the trees growing through, around, etc. Doing the sugar cube experiment was especially fun and they actually got to see the changes made in the cubes and relate it to rocks.”

“My students really liked comparing the shaken cubes to the one left out, they could see how the edges become rounded and "eroded". Much more fun than dragging out the rock tumbler and waiting days for a result!”

“We loved this mystery! The students enjoyed brainstorming experiments, and were very scientific while completing sugar shake. Mystery Science continues to be an asset as it keeps the students excited about learning.”

“Absolutely love your website & service so far! The kids loved the intro lesson with the videos and discussion questions. Then we did the Sugar Shake today and they had a blast. Love the step-by-step video instructions, and the easy to do experiment. Keep the topics coming!!!”

“I loved the video that helped give background knowledge and allowed them to share their ideas with each other. Very interactive! Gave the students a sense of how rocks can break down due to erosion.”

“The stopping for discussion questions. We also took it a step farther by designing our own experiments for rock tumbling - engineering! I love how clear and focused the lesson/narration are, and how they relate to the slides, videos and photos. The step by step directions for the activity are phenomenal and get my students engaged and thinking about the content. Keep the NGSS related lessons coming!!! Thanks.”

“I like the lessons because they are very hands-on, and the students also have to get into the habit of recording their observations as they go, and then use that data to answer questions.The videos are awesome too! We replayed the landslides in the next lesson over and over again.”

“This is the best site ever! My students were completely engaged and even I learned quite a bit. I'm looking forward to more and more units. Great real life video and I love the experiments and open endedness that's given to the students.”

“The kids loved shaking the "rocks" and were able to make great connections to the learning in other parts of the day. Over recess, they brought in rocks and we tried to determine whether they were top of the mountain or bottom of the mountain rocks. ”

“The visuals were easy to unstand, complex enough but not cluttered. The story was interesting and slow moving enough for the kiddos to grasp the concepts. All of my students were successful, from my lowest achievers to my most talented thinkers.”

“I loved how it brought you through the activity step by step and showed video that would replay of how to do each step. Some of my students really needed that visual. My students loved it!! They were very engaged and excited :) ”

“This was my time using Mystery Science, and it was a great experience. Students scored better on my assessment and were more engaged throughout the entire lesson. I will be using this resource far more often in the future. ”

“One of our favorite lessons yet! The kids were so excited about root and ice wedging they wanted to go right outside to find examples of that in our own yard and driveway. The sugar cube experiment was a huge hit. Thanks for another fun and educational science lesson!”

“The kids totally understood that the sugar cubes were standing in for real rocks, and that the action of shaking them should mimic the motion of rocks tumbling down a mountainside. They decided they should all shake up and down, because that was closer to what a real rock would do coming down the mountain. I didn't expect that strong of a connection, but they got it on their own! I feel like they are becoming scientific thinkers and I love it!”

“The students were actively involved. They loved the SUgar Shake! The Yosemite video left quite an impression on my third graders. This Mystery was great to show the scientific method in practice. We intend to use more of these lessons!”

“The best part was the gasp of realization that the cracks in our sidewalks are caused by root wedging. The students couldn't stay quiet in line the next time we walked to another part of the school, pointing out the trees nearby as the culprits of the sidewalk cracks!”

“It came down to the activity tying all the complex ideas together. Super engaging and clearly demonstrated the answer to the question that mountains can't last forever. My students are loving these lessons, well organized with integrated technology as well as tons of extension and reading materials. ”

“LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! SO MUCH LEARNING! They are off to try it with rocks and sugar, rocks and croutons, and go outside to look for rock slides like Yosemite National Park. We live in the Piedmont! We can take Skyline Drive and look rock slides... I'm scared with that windy road right under the mountain sides. ”

“Finally! My students were able to see how root/ice wedging work. It is such a difficult concept to explain or find visuals for, but this mystery has perfect visuals built in! I have never had more engagement, at any given time I had 15+ hands in the air!”

“I am continually impressed by the lessons on Mystery Science. My children are fully engaged in the lessons each time. I didn't expect my children to like brainstorming because its not as hands on. They really got into their creative mode and had of fun!”

“As a former science teacher, now homeschooling my son, I am LOVING these lessons! The science is solid, and the content is engaging. My son loves it (especially when my hypothesis was "wrong" he loves explaining to me why I was wrong lol). He's learning a lot, and having fun, too!”

Sugar Shake Data worksheet	30 copies
Markers Washable. Do not use permanent marker.	Details 30 markers
Paper Plates	15 plates
Plastic Containers w/ Lids	15 containers
Sugar Cubes	75 cubes

Will a mountain last forever?

Vocabulary