•

Explain the formation of landforms such as mushroom rocks and mesas as a result of
the erosional activity of the wind. Show pictures of different landforms formed as a
result of wind erosion.
• Explain the formation of landforms formed as a result of the depositional activity of
winds such as sand dunes.
• Describe the erosional and depositional features caused by glaciers (cirques and
moraines). Show pictures representing each type of landform.
Assessment
Summative Assessment
The teacher can help the students complete exercises I, II, III, IV and V orally. The students
can be asked to write the answers on their own.
Formative Assessment
Given below is a list of activities for Formative Assessment. A wide variety of activities
have been given keeping in mind the fact that the students in a classroom have multiple
intelligences. You could use them to assess the understanding of the students either at
the end of the chapter, or at the end of each section.
• Scrap book: Complete the activity.
• Make a collage: Complete the activity.
• Project work: Complete the activity.
• Creative writing: Ask the students to think of catchy slogans and colorful pictures to
show the landform.
• Peer and self-assessment: Use the Name the following, True and false sentences, and
the MCQs for peer and self-assessment.

HOTS
The HOTS question can be discussed in class.

Life skills
Ask the students to say what they would do first to save themselves. They can make a list
of things to help others too.

Value-based question
Ask the students to discuss the answers for the value-based question.
Follow-up • Collect information on the series of tsunamis that have rocked the world recently.

Answer key for the exercises in the lesson

Exercises for Summative Assessment • They cause the surface of the Earth to
I. Give reasons. tremble, and even crack open or subside
in places.
1. Earthquakes are considered to be some of
the worst natural disasters. • Can cause buildings to collapse and
rivers to change course.
• Loss of men and material is generally
very high.

126

GASS 7 TB fin.indd 126 10-03-2016 14:58:10

 • Transport, power and water supply lines Moraine Deposition Glacier
get cut; and gas lines break, which can
Mushroom rock Erosion Wind
result in fire.
Ox-bow lake Erosion and River
• Earthquakes under the sea can trigger
Deposition
tsunamis (giant waves).
Plunge pool Erosion Water falls
2. Deltaic plains are thickly populated.
Tarn Erosion Glacier (melts to
• Deltas are very fertile regions and ideal become a lake)
for agriculture because of the deposits
of alluvial soil. Wave-cut Erosion Waves
platform
• There is plenty of water available.
II. Name the following. V. Answer the following questions.
1. Seven major tectonic plates. 1. Define ‘lithospheric plates’.
The Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, • The lithosphere consists of the crust and
the South American Plate, the Eurasian the outer part of the upper mantle.
Plate, the African Plate, the Indo-Australian • The lithosphere is broken up into a
Plate and the Antarctic Plate. number of pieces called tectonic or
2. Two active volcanoes. lithospheric plates.
Mt. Etna and Mt. Stromboli • These are rigid plates floating on the
3. Two types of erosion. semi-molten rocks of the asthenosphere.
Wind erosion and river erosion 2. Distinguish between endogenetic and
exogenetic forces.
4. Two major waterfalls.
Endogenetic Earth movements
Angel Falls (highest) in Venezuela and
Victoria Falls (broadest) between Zambia 1. These are internal processes.
and Zimbabwe 2. They can be sudden or slow and
III. True or false? continuous.
1. Mountain building forces are exogenetic 3. Examples are earthquakes, landslides
forces. (F) and volcanic eruptions, which occur
suddenly, and the forces of mountain
2. Magma that spills onto the surface of the
building which are slow and continuous.
Earth is called lava. (T)
Exogenetic Earth movements
3. The raised banks of flood plains are called
deltas. (F) 1. These are external processes.
4. Barchans are crescent shaped. (T) 2. Gradational processes are continuous
and slow, and are usually noticeable only
5. Glaciers form ox-bow lakes. (F)
over thousands of years (erosion and
IV. Classify the following landforms as features of deposition).
erosion or deposition. Also identify the agent of
3. Land forms caused by the erosional and
gradation in each case.
depositional features of rivers, wind,
Land form Feature Agents of waves and glaciers are examples.
gradation 3. Why do tectonic plates move?
Barchan Deposition Wind • The rigid lithospheric plates float on the
Beach Deposition Waves semi-molten rocks of the lower portion
Cirque Erosion Glacier of the upper mantle, which is called the
Delta Deposition River asthenosphere.
I-shaped valley Erosion River • The temperature in the asthenosphere
is high, i.e., around 1600◦C and hence
Loess plain Deposition Wind
the rocks are in a near molten state and
Mesa Erosion Wind they can float in a thick and viscous way.
127

GASS 7 TB fin.indd 127 10-03-2016 14:58:10

 4. What is the difference between erosion and
deposition?
• Erosion is the disintegration and removal
of weathered material.
• Deposition is the addition and compaction
or cementation of weathered material.
5. What causes earthquakes?
• Earthquakes are vibrations that move
through the Earth and over its surface.
• They are caused by disturbances that
originate inside the Earth.
• Sudden movements deep beneath the
surface, like the rupture of rocks and the
collision of tectonic plates, release an
enormous amount of energy in the form
of seismic or shock waves.
• These seismic waves travel to the surface
and cause tremors or vibrations.
6. Define a volcano. How are volcanoes
classified on the basis of their period of
eruption?
• A volcano is an opening (vent) in the
Earth’s crust through which molten rock
and gases erupt (come out suddenly)
from deep inside the Earth.
• On the basis of their frequency of
eruptions, volcanoes are classified as
active, dormant and extinct volcanoes.
7. Discuss in detail the erosional and
depositional features of rivers.
Erosional features of rivers:
• Rivers break up the bedrock over which
they flow and erode them through
mechanical erosion and chemical
erosion. Valleys of different shapes are
formed by the erosive action of a river in
its upper and middle course.
• I- shaped valleys or canyons are formed
when a river cuts out a narrow valley
with steepwalls.
• V- Shaped valleys are formed when the
river is still young and its flow is rapid. The
erosion is predominantly vertical though
there is also a certain amount of horizontal
erosion which gives the valley its V-shape.
• U- Shaped valleys, with relatively level
floors and steep sides, are formed in the
middle course of the river, when it widens
128
GASS 7 TB fin.indd 128
and horizontally erodes valley floors.
They are also caused by glacial erosion.
• Waterfalls are formed when there is a
steep drop along the course of a river
and the water rushes down the drop
with great force
• A Plunge pool is formed when the water
falls on the surface below with great
force and it erodes the rock material
beneath, creating a depression.
Depositional features of rivers.
• Meanders are formed in the lower
course when the river, loaded with
debris, becomes very slow. The river
swings from side to side as it flows over
a level tract, forming winding sections of
loops.
• An ox-bow lake is formed due to the
continuous erosion on the concave side
and deposition on the convex side of a
meander that cuts a loop from the main
river.
• A flood plain is an almost flat plain that
is formed as a result of a river flooding
its banks. It borders the river. Unable
to carry its entire load of sediments,
the river deposits some of it on its bed.
When the river banks and valleys flood,
the fine sediments brought down by the
river get deposited, making the flood
plain very rich and fertile.
• Levees are the raised banks of a river
flowing through the flood plains
• Sandbars are formed when the river
nears its mouth (the place where it meets
the sea) and it deposits its sediments.
• Distributaries are formed when the river
breaks up into a number of channels to
move through the sandbars.
• A delta is a more or less triangular
alluvial tract formed by the sediments
deposited by the distributaries as the
river enters the sea. It is a very fertile
region and ideal for agriculture. It is also
the mouth of the river.
8. What are sand dunes?
• During sandstorms, in desert areas the
wind carries large amounts of sand
grains.
10-03-2016 14:58:10
 • As the wind slows down and loses its
energy, it starts dropping its load of sand.
• Such hills of sands deposited by wind are
called sand dunes.
9. What are glaciers? Describe an erosional
and depositional feature caused by glaciers.
• Glaciers are slow moving rivers of ice.
• They consist of huge masses of ice blocks
spread over several kilometers.
• Glaciers move at such a slow pace that
their movements are hardly noticeable.
• They are of two kinds, mountain glaciers
and continental glaciers.
• Glaciers form features of both erosion
and deposition.
The two major landforms formed by the
glaciers are cirques and moraines.
• A cirque is an arm-chair like depression
caused by the erosive action of a huge
glacier.
Question bank
I. Distinguish between the following
1. Flood Plain and Delta
2. Magma and lava
II. Answer these questions in a sentence or two.
1. Name the two forces that result in mountain
building.
2. Define the term erosion.
3. What are cirques and moraines?
Answer key for the worksheet
I. 1. Endogenetic  2. Divergent plates
3. Seismograph  4. Delta  5. Cirques and
Moraines  6. barchans
II. 1. c  2. a  3. e  4. b  5. d
III. 1. d  2. a  3. d  4. a  5. b  6. d  7. b
IV. 1. • Dormant volcanoes are those that have
been quiet for a long time but show
signs of erupting again. Their vent is
often plugged with solidified lava.
• Extinct volcanoes show no indication
of future eruption. The craters are most
often filled with water to form lakes.
GASS 7 TB fin.indd 129
• Glaciers transport eroded rock debris
with them as they move, and deposit
them on the floor of valleys and the
slopes of mountains. Such deposits
look like a sand wall on a snow covered
mountainous tract and is called a
moraine.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. d  2. b  3. a  4. d  5. a
6. c  7. a  8. a  9. d  10. d
Value-based question
• Being helpful
• Subscribing to the spirit of neighbourliness
• Being considerate and generous
• Being selfless
4. Name three features caused by wind
deposition.
III. Answer in detail
1. Explain in detail the different stages in a
river’s life.
2. How do we classify the magnitude of
earthquakes?
3. Write a short note on the features caused by
wave action.
2. Weathering is the breaking up of the rock
material on the surface of the Earth due to
exposure to the atmosphere.
3. • The mouth of a river where it joins the
sea is called a delta.
• Deltas are fertile due the deposition of
sediments that the river has carried.
• These sediments are deposited in the
form of sandbars as the river breaks up
into a number of small channels called
distributaries.
129
10-03-2016 14:58:10