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Sample Assessment Items
This is not meant to be printed off and given as a test…this document is to give you ideas
of how this standard might be assessed. Please use these as an example when you are
developing your own formative assessments. Remember formative assessment is to be
given throughout the teaching of a standard to help you guide your instruction based on
students needs. A good formative assessment should have a mix of multiple choice as
well as open ended.
S5E1. Students will identify surface features of the Earth caused by constructive and
destructive processes.
b. Identify and find examples of surface features caused by destructive
processes.
• Erosion (water—rivers and oceans, wind)
• Weathering
• Impact of organisms
• Earthquake
• Volcano
Multiple Choice:
What is the pulling of sand particles sideways along a beach called?
a. beach drift
b. beach erosion
c. breakers
d. sandbars
Answer: a
Which of these is a giant wave caused by an earthquake under the ocean?
a. epicenter
b. fault
c. focus
d. tsunami
Answer: d
The Grand Canyon was formed as the result of _______________.
a. erosion
b. a glacier
c. a volcano
d. an earthquake
Answer: a
Which of these is NOT an example of an event that changes the surface of Earth rapidly?
a. avalanches
b. earthquakes
c. glaciers
d. landslides
Answer: c
Over time, how will waves change the rocks shown in the above illustration?
a. Waves will change the rocks into sea salt.
b. Waves will pound, smooth, and break apart rocks.
c. Waves will wet the rocks, but will not change their shape.
d. Waves will press small rocks together to form larger rocks.
Answer: b
Ms. Blackburn asks her science students to design an activity that will make rocks smooth
like the one they find near a fast-moving river. The students came up with different idea
listed below. Which activity shows how a river makes rocks smooth?
a. Put the rocks under heavy weights.
b. Place the rocks in direct sunlight.
c. Bury the rocks in soil under water.
d. Shake the rocks in a container of water.
Answer: d
Terrance drew a picture of the beach he goes to every year and compared it to the
picture he drew last year.
What probably caused the change in the size of the beach?
a. Wind and water eroded the beach.
b. People dumped rocks into the ocean water.
c. Lava flowed over the beach, washing away the sand.
d. Oxygen in the air reacted with the sand causing it to erode.
Answer: a
Which BEST explains why this beach house is built on stilts?
a. to protect it from wildlife
b. to make it more accessible by boat
c. to make it easier to see from far away
d. to protect it from high tides and waves
Answer: d
The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by natural processes is called _________.
a. deposition
b. fossilization
c. sediment
d. weathering
Answer: d
Which of these is caused by an earthquake?
a. fault
b. hurricane
c. tsunami
d. volcano
Answer: c
Caves form under certain conditions. In which kind of environment would a cave be
MOST LIKELY to form?
a. a cool prairie
b. a wide desert
c. a rainy hillside
d. a windy mountainside
Answer: c
The lava that flows from a volcano is caused by pressure underneath the Earth’s surface.
This pressure is caused by ________________.
a. human activities that impact the lava flow
b. earthquakes that occur in the Earth’s core
c. heat trapped deep under the Earth’s surface
d. chemical weathering that occurs under the Earth’s surface
Answer: c
Open ended:
What are some types of destructive forces?
How are the Earth’s surface features affected by destructive processes?
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
How do movements of Earth’s crust change landforms?
How was Georgia’s Providence Canyon formed?
Will Stone Mountain always exist? Why or why not?