THE EFFECTS OF SOIL

EROSION ON LIVING
THINGS AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
for Science Grade 5
Quarter 4 / Week 2
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 FOREWORD

This self-learning kit will serve as your guide in investigating the

extent of soil erosion in the community and its effects on living things and
the environment.

In this learning kit the learners will be able to fully understand what
soil erosion is, its effects on people, plants and animals.

It is divided into three parts:

I. What happened: It is where the learners are going to answer the

exercises to assess their prior knowledge about the learning
competency.

II. What I need to know: It is in this part that the learners will be able
to gain more knowledge about the learning competency.

III.What I have learned: It is in this part that the learners will gauge
their level of mastery on the learning competency of the extent of soil
erosion.

It is expected that the learners will be equipped with the skills of the
learning standards and use them in their day to day activities.

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 OBJECTIVES:
K Identify the causes of soil erosion.
S Determine the extent of soil erosion on living things and the
environment.
A Appreciate the importance of preventing soil erosion.

LEARNING COMPTENCY:
Investigate extent of soil erosion in the community and its effects on living
things and the environment. (S5FEIVb-2)

I. WHAT HAPPENED

Hi, I am Lisa! How are you? I hope you are

doing well. As you can see, I am planting. I am
scared of my dream about flood and soil erosion.
So, I decided to take action. Soon I will make
this place greener just like in Ayungon, Negros
Oriental where my relatives live. By the way, do you
know what soil erosion is
and its dangerous effects
to us and to our
environment? If not, let’s
learn more about erosion,
its causes and effects.

https://www.freepik.com/premium -vector/cute-girl-plant-
tree_7079501.htm
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PRE-ACTIVITIES/PRE-TEST
Task 1 - Word Hunt
Directions: Supply the missing words in the statement box about soil. Look for the
missing word/s in the word search puzzle. Write your answer in your notebook.

A layer of the soil is called a (1) and together

they form a sequence called a (2) . Mature soil
has three complete layers: the (3) , (4) ,
and the (5) .

Task 2 - Experiment Time

Safety precautions before doing the different activities.

1. Be careful in handling the materials.
2. Be sure to do the experiment with the supervision of your parents or
an adult.
3. Do not taste any material used in the experiment.
4. Use the materials intended for the purpose
5. Carefully follow the procedure.

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 I. Problem: How do plants affect the amount of soil being washed away?
II. Materials: soil, short grass, 2 rectangular trays, 2 catch basins, a sprinkler or
dipper, water
III. Procedure:
1. Fill two flat containers with soil.
2. Plant short grass in one container.
3. Set the trays in a sloping position.
4. Place catch basins at the end of each container.
5. Sprinkle water on top of the soil in each tray.
6. Observe and compare the amount of soil in each basin.

1. Which basin contains lots of water and soil?

_______________
2. What prevent soil erosion in Basin B? _______________
V. Conclusion

I have learned that .

II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

Discussion:

The Earth’s surface may look the same to you, but it is actually changing
gradually. Earth’s landforms like valley, mountain, or its
rocks and even coastlines do not stay the same as years go by.
Erosion has caused the changes.

What is Erosion?
Erosion starts with weathering. Erosion is a process in which things breakdown
naturally into smaller pieces or they are transported from one location to another.
For example, rock is broken down into very smaller pieces by water and these
pieces are transported by wind or water itself from one location to another.
Deposition is the process by which sediment is deposited in a new location.

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 Causes of Erosion
Erosion is caused by natural forces and man-made activities that shape the
landforms as we can see today. The natural forces that create landforms include
water, wind, glaciers, and gravity.

Natural Forces that Caused Soil Erosion

Human Caused Erosion
Erosion can cause many negative impacts on soil and on our environment.
Human activities have sped-up erosion and the damage caused by erosion has also
increased significantly.

Deforestation: Forest or brush have been carelessly

cut or burned on sloping land, the rain sweeps down
the slope in a sheet and gradually washes away the
soil.

https://visayas.politics.com.ph/coco-industry-in-
western-visayas-threatened-by-illegal-logging/

Overgrazing: Occurs when plants are exposed to

intensive grazing for extended period. It reduces the
usefulness and productivity of the land and is one
cause of soil erosion.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.zenrooms.
com/blog/post/rock-formation-in-the-
philippines/amp/

Kaingin: Farmers tend to clear and burn a patch of

forest area. They cultivate the area until such time
that the soil is no longer good for planting.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-
sOuDu0wHQQk/TYlwopOQ91I/AAAAAAAAAR0/oBg
6
HQF4eYBI/s1600/images.jpgkaingin+firemmm.jpg
 Overcropping: It exhausts the fertility of the land
by continuous cultivation of crops since depleted
soil cannot sustain vegetation and often holds less
moisture.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-
L86xdjCW8ls/Tx1EXcqbgfI/AAAAAAAAABI/JUfUqT6Y
46I/s1600/soil+erosion.jpg

PULANG BATO FALLS IN https://www.google.com/amp/s/ww https://science4fun.info/wp-content/

VALENCIA, NEGROS ORIENTAL w.zenrooms.com/blog/post/rock-formation- uploads/2018/07/glaciers.j pg
https://www.google.com/amp/s/centra
in-the-philippines/amp/
lvisayaswonders.home.blog/2019/03/03/
pulangbato-falls-and-hotspring/amp

Erosion by Wind
Erosion by Glaciers
Erosion by Water Wind is also a
powerful natural force The movement of glaciers
One of the most powerful erodes the land and
that causes significant
natural force on the Earth is mountains which results in
erosion in dry areas.
water which causes the formation of many
Wind usually pick dust
significant erosions. features.
and sand particles from
Rainfall, waves, floods, and
the land surface and
rivers cause soil erosion.
carries them to a large
distance before settling.

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Effects of Erosion
Erosion other than forming landforms, it also creates many disastrous effects for
the humans, animals, and plants.
Some of these effects are:
1. Reduction in fertility of soil: Soil that is fertile for crops has most of the
nutrients and organic matter on the surface. When soil begins to erode, the top
layer of land that is rich in nutrients for plants is washed away – making the land
infertile. Poor soil quality can lead to limited crops yield. Farmers will need to use
fertilizers.
2. Environmental Impact: Erosion causes deposition of various materials such
as sand, pesticides and other toxic materials into rivers which increase the water
pollution. Furthermore, erosion by wind can also drag the pollutants from landfills
and exhausts of power plants and factories which increase air.
3. Damage: Erosion also causes various natural disasters such as landslides
which cause the destruction of houses, buildings, and other structures. It also
destroys the seedlings in the land and causes an increased cost to farmers.
How to Control Erosion?
Land and soil are renewable
resources. However, lost soil requires
anywhere from a decade to millions of
years to be replaced. It is estimated
that human-caused erosion erodes
more than 1 million acres of soil each
year. The best way to reduce the
erosion of fertile land is by planting
trees which resist wind and water
from eroding the surface of the land. https://science4fun.info/wp-
content/uploads/2019/03/plantation.jpg

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 DID YOU KNOW?
Heavy dust and sandstorms are caused by wind erosion.
Many fossils buried in the land has been uncovered by water and wind
erosion.
Erosion is most often controlled naturally by geological
weathering.

III. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

EVALUATION/POST TEST:

A. Identification: Identify the agent or cause of erosion of each situation.

Choose from the box below. Write your answer in your notebook.

deforestation overcropping water glaciers

overgrazing Kaingin wind water and wind

1. Farmers tend to clear and burn a patch of forest area. They cultivate the area
until such time that the soil is no longer good for planting.
2. Forest or brush have been carelessly cut or burned on sloping land, the rain
sweeps down the slope in a sheet and gradually washes away the soil.
3. One of the most powerful natural force that washes away the topsoil in
agricultural land.
4. Large ice formations that move slowly and form valleys and shape mountains
through erosion
5. A powerful natural force that causes significant erosion in dry areas. It usually
picks dust and sand particles from the land surface and carries them to a large
distance before settling.
6. It carries away more rocks and soil than all other agents.

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 7. It exhausts the fertility of the land by continuous cultivation of crops.
8. Plants are exposed to intensive grazing of animals making the soil bare.
9-10. What two agents or natural forces cause this rock formation to look like
this?

Directions: Read the questions carefully and choose the best answer.
Write your answers in your notebook.

1. What do you call the process by which water, ice, wind or gravity moves weathered
rock and soil from one place to another?
A. Erosion C. Deposition
B. Weathering D. Crop Rotation

2. Which of the following is most likely to have soil erosion? A. rice

field C. sloping bare land B. grassland D. sloping grassland

3. In what way does wind cause soil erosion?

A. blowing away soil C. carrying away seeds
B. blowing away leaves D. changing rocks to soil

4. What do we call the large ice formations that move slowly and form
valleys and shape mountains through erosion?

A. icebergs C. glaciers B. Waves D. Ice river

5. What type of soil is most likely eroded by water or wind?

A. clay C. silt
B. topsoil D. humus

6. Which of the following is way to limit the amount of erosion caused by human
activity?
A. Planting trees to protect farmland from the wind
B. Rotating herds between different grasslands
C. Planting trees to replace ones that were cut down
D. All of the above

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7. Which of the following is not an effect of soil erosion?
A. Reduced soil quality C. Decreased crop yield B. Water pollution
D. Improved water quality

8. What can occur at the site or an area that is experiencing soil erosion?
A. Water pollution is cleared up C. Reduction in fertility of soil
B. Natural disasters like landslide D. Both B and C

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REFERENCES

https://science4fun.info/erosion/
http://www.apoisland.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/800px-
Apo_Island_rocks.jpg
https://science4fun.info/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/glaciers.jpg
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.zenrooms.com/blog/post/rock-formation-in-
the-philippines/amp/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/centralvisayaswonders.home.blog/2019/03/03/ pulangbato-falls-and-
hotspring/amp
https://science4fun.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/plantation.jpg
Lozada, Buena A., Mendoza, Augusto T. Science for Daily Use 4. JICA
ENTERPRISES.16 Horizon St., Rim View Park, SSS Village, Marikina City, 2002

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 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF NEGROS ORIENTAL

SENEN PRISCILLO P. PAULIN, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent

FAY C. LUAREZ, TM, Ed.D., Ph.D.

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
Acting CID Chief

NILITA L. RAGAY, Ed.D.

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

ROSELA R. ABIERA
Education Program Supervisor – (LRMDS)

ARNOLD R. JUNGCO
PSDS – Division Science Coordinator

MARICEL S. RASID
Librarian II (LRMDS)

ELMAR L. CABRERA
PDO II (LRMDS)

GELISA F. LANGAN
Writer

GELISA F. LANGAN
Illustrator/Lay-out Artist

NOELYN E. SIAPNO
Layout Artist
_________________________________

ALPHA QA TEAM
GENEROSA V. ACUZAR
ALICE A. ALATAN
GELISA F. LANGAN
MONA LISA A. ONGCO

BETA QA TEAM
DORIN FAYE D. CADAYDAY
MERCY G. DAGOY
MARY JANE E. ELMA
MARIA ELVIE E. SIENES
JIMUEL SUN Ed. D.
CRISTITTA R. TINGUBAN Ph D.

DISCLAIMER

The information, activities and assessments used in this material are designed to provide
accessible learning modality to the teachers and learners of the Division of Negros Oriental. The
contents of this module are carefully researched, chosen, and evaluated to comply with the set
learning competencies. The writers and evaluator were clearly instructed to give credits to
information and illustrations used to substantiate this material. All content is subject to copyright
and may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent from the division.

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SYNOPSIS
Erosion happens every time in
any place and it affects people, plants,
and animals. It mainly affects land.
The main objective of this SLK
is to let learners investigate extent of
soil erosion in the community and its
effects on
living things and the environment.
So, keep on reading. Try
answering honestly the activities
designed for you and together, let us
conserve soil.

AUTHOR, ILLUSTRATOR,
LAY-OUT ARTIST

GELISA F. LANGAN. She is a graduate of Bachelor of Elementary

Education at Negros College, Inc., Ayungon, Negros Oriental and
currently she takes up Master of Arts in Education, Major in
Administration and Supervision at STI-WNU, Bacolod City.
She is the Grade Five adviser at Linao Elementary School for 5 years.

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