6th Grade Earth Science

Earth Science is the study of our planet, its processes, and its place in the universe. By the end of this year you should be able to come up with good answers to the following questions.

1. When you look up at the night sky what are you able to see?

2. What can we determine from looking at the layers of rock along a mountain road?

3. How can humans change something as large as Earth’s atmosphere?

4. Why are weather predictions correct more often than not; even if it does rain on your birthday?

5. Why do we think that some planets have wind or volcanoes on them and others don't?

6. Why don’t we think that the continents have always been in the same place?

7. What have we done to keep people safer from natural disasters?

8. How can we know exactly where in the night sky a star or planet will appear hundreds of years in advance or in the past?

9. Why do we think that the Appalachian Mountains are older than the Rocky Mountains? 

10. Why do clouds actually depend on the sun?

11. How do scientists use fossils and rock layers to estimate the age of mountains and the Earth?

12. Why does North Dakota and Texas mine oil while Minnesota mines Iron?

13. If you are building a house, why does someone need to measure how much of the land is going to be covered by your house?

14. Does Earth change quickly or slowly?

15. How did different cultures make sense of, and use, patterns in the night sky?