Sediment Settling and Sediment Transportation
- Experiment
- Present the students with sand and gravel and ask them which material will settle first in a jar filled with water.
- Place the material in a jar, fill it with water, stir and set it aside to settle. Observe what is happening?
- Mix the content of the jar and pour it on a tray slightly lifted on one side. Observe how gravel and sand travel down the tray.
- Discussion:
- What can this experiment tell us about sediment transportation in a river?
- In the discussion, figure out what are the characteristics of a river bed in the upper, middle, and lower sections of a river.
- Matching photos of rivers with river sections
- Find your examples of water environments (photos from your local area or pictures from the press).
- Try to link the pictures with one of three typical sections of a river.
- What can you say about your local streams and rivers?