Skip to content Skip to navigation Skip to collection information

Connexions

You are here: Home » Content » Natural Sciences Grade 5 » Soil erosion

Navigation

Lenses

What is a lens?

Definition of a lens

Lenses

A lens is a custom view of the content in the repository. You can think of it as a fancy kind of list that will let you see content through the eyes of organizations and people you trust.

What is in a lens?

Lens makers point to materials (modules and collections), creating a guide that includes their own comments and descriptive tags about the content.

Who can create a lens?

Any individual member, a community, or a respected organization.

What are tags? tag icon

Tags are descriptors added by lens makers to help label content, attaching a vocabulary that is meaningful in the context of the lens.

This content is ...

In these lenses

  • GETIntPhaseNS display tagshide tags

    This module and collection are included inLens: Siyavula: Natural Sciences (Gr. 4-6)
    By: Siyavula

    Module Review Status: Approved
    Collection Review Status: Approved

    Click the "GETIntPhaseNS" link to see all content selected in this lens.

    Click the tag icon tag icon to display tags associated with this content.

Recently Viewed

This feature requires Javascript to be enabled.

Tags

(What is a tag?)

These tags come from the endorsement, affiliation, and other lenses that include this content.
 

Soil erosion

Module by: Siyavula Uploaders. E-mail the author

Natural Sciences

Grade 5

PLANET EARTH AND THE UNIVERSE

Module 23

SOIL EROSION AND GOOD FARMING METHODS

ACTIVITY:

To be able to discuss soil erosion and good farming methods

[LO 1.3; LO 2.1; lo 2.2]

Soil erosion

  • Have you ever walked on the beach on a windy day and felt how the grains of sand pelt your legs? It is a regular, natural occurrence that the wind picks up and transfers soil particles, and especially grains of sand, to a different area.

Group assignment

You will need: a square wooden block, a hairdryer, coarse and fine sand and an empty ice tray.

Place a little mound of sand on the wooden block.

Place the block and the ice tray next to each other.

Hold the hairdryer close to the sand and blow the sand into the ice tray.

Write down your observation.

Let’s apply what you have just learnt.

  • During a dust storm the finest particles of sand are blown through the air at a relatively high altitude, while the coarser particles move at a height of about one metre. This is how dunes on the coast or in the desert are continually on the move. Unfortunately the wind can also cause soil erosion in this way. If overgrazing takes place, or if plants are destroyed or grasslands are burnt indiscriminately at the wrong time of the year, the top layer of soil becomes exposed and the wind can cause erosion.
  • Water can cause even more serious soil erosion if, for example, there are not enough plants growing against a steep incline.

Good farming methods

Answer the following questions:

1. Why mustn’t natural vegetation simply be destroyed?

2. Why could footpaths be harmful to the veld?

3. Experienced stock farmers like to make many camps for their stock. They also like to lay on water to each camp.

(a) Why?

(b) In the early years, when farmers did not have the necessary materials to make camps, how did they solve the problems they were faced with?

4. Look at the following sketch. It shows that a farmer who wants to establish a vineyard, an orchard or a maize field on a hilly farm, can prepare the soil in two ways.

Figure 1
Figure 1 (graphics1.png)

Which of the two ways would you recommend, and why?

Assessment

LO 1: SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONLearners respond confidently to their desire to learn about natural phenomena; they investigate relationships and solve problems within the context of science, technology and the environment.

We know this when the learner:

1.1 plans investigations;

1.2 takes the lead in investigating and collecting data;

1.3 evaluates data and communicates findings.

LO 2: CONSTRUCTION OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGELearners know, interpret and apply scientific, technological and environmental knowledge.

We know this when the learner:

2.1 recalls significant information;

2.2 categorises information

Memorandum

Farming methods

  1. Erosion, balance of oxygen/carbon dioxide (composition of air, ozone layer), animals depend on plants as food, for protection, etc.
  2. Plants die when trodden on, ground becomes hard, no humus, when it rains heavily the topsoil washes away, erosion begins
  3. Reasons for camps
    1. Prevents overgrazing in certain areas and the formation of footpaths as the animals always have to walk to a water source in another place
    2. Migration to parts where water and grazing are available

4. Method of ploughing obliquely against the rise, as it prevents flooding and erosion.

Collection Navigation

Content actions

Download module as:

PDF | More downloads ...

Add:

Collection to:

My Favorites (?)

'My Favorites' is a special kind of lens which you can use to bookmark modules and collections. 'My Favorites' can only be seen by you, and collections saved in 'My Favorites' can remember the last module you were on. You need an account to use 'My Favorites'.

| A lens I own (?)

Definition of a lens

Lenses

A lens is a custom view of the content in the repository. You can think of it as a fancy kind of list that will let you see content through the eyes of organizations and people you trust.

What is in a lens?

Lens makers point to materials (modules and collections), creating a guide that includes their own comments and descriptive tags about the content.

Who can create a lens?

Any individual member, a community, or a respected organization.

What are tags? tag icon

Tags are descriptors added by lens makers to help label content, attaching a vocabulary that is meaningful in the context of the lens.

| External bookmarks

Module to:

My Favorites (?)

'My Favorites' is a special kind of lens which you can use to bookmark modules and collections. 'My Favorites' can only be seen by you, and collections saved in 'My Favorites' can remember the last module you were on. You need an account to use 'My Favorites'.

| A lens I own (?)

Definition of a lens

Lenses

A lens is a custom view of the content in the repository. You can think of it as a fancy kind of list that will let you see content through the eyes of organizations and people you trust.

What is in a lens?

Lens makers point to materials (modules and collections), creating a guide that includes their own comments and descriptive tags about the content.

Who can create a lens?

Any individual member, a community, or a respected organization.

What are tags? tag icon

Tags are descriptors added by lens makers to help label content, attaching a vocabulary that is meaningful in the context of the lens.

| External bookmarks