- The sediment rolls down hill towards a river - The heavy items sink to the bottom - The lighter items float on the top and in convection cycles - As the river flows the sediment is moved - The sediment gets dumped through tributaries into lakes and the ocean - The sediment keeps moving around the world in convection currents. What might be the first step of the process?
Ans: Sediment becomes loose from the rest of the soil

- The particles remove small pieces of the rock each time they touch the rocks - The particles continue to hit, brush against, or grow against the rocks - The rock eventually is broken apart by this contact - The pieces of the rock are now small rocks - The rock pieces are worn away into smaller and smaller pieces by the same forces - What might be the first step of the process?
Ans: Particles in the environment interact with rocks

- The atoms become unstable - The atoms split - In alpha decay, two protons and two neutrons are released from the atom - In beta decay, a neutron changes into a proton and an electron - The proton joins the nucleus of the atom - The electron is released - What might be the first step of the process?
Ans: The nuclei of some atoms have too few or too many neutrons

- The roots of the growing plants start to break up the rock - The plant acids dissolve the rock - The rock is broken down into smaller pieces - Erosion begins. What might be the first step of the process?
Ans: Plants start growing on or near the rocks