Landforms are the natural shapes on Earth's surface — mountains, valleys, plains and more — and they're constantly being shaped by two opposing kinds of processes. Weathering breaks rock down in place through wind, rain, ice and temperature changes. Erosion then carries those broken-down pieces elsewhere, often via rivers, wind or glaciers. Tectonic activity, like colliding plates, can push land upward to form mountains over millions of years.
Example
The Grand Canyon was carved over millions of years as the Colorado River gradually eroded through layers of rock, while nearby cliffs continue to crumble slowly from weathering.
Key terms
Weathering:
The breakdown of rock in place, without it being moved.
Erosion:
The movement of broken-down rock and soil to a new location.
Tectonic plate:
A huge slab of Earth's crust that can shift over time.
Questions
1. A landform is a natural feature of:
The internet
Earth's surface
A building
A book
2. Mountains, valleys and plains are all examples of:
Weather
Landforms
Animals
Governments
3. The wearing away of rock over time by wind or water is called:
Erosion
Photosynthesis
Digestion
Government
4. A river usually flows through a:
Mountain top
Valley
Cloud
Desert only
5. A very flat, wide area of land is called a:
Mountain
Plain
Volcano
Cliff
6. Which of these is NOT a landform?
Mountain
Valley
Plain
Rainbow
7. Landforms change over:
One second
Long periods of time
Never
One day only
8. The gradual wearing away of rock by wind or water is called:
Erosion
Irrigation
Urbanisation
Migration
9. A large, flat area of land is called a:
Plateau
Plain
Valley
Delta
10. Mountains can form due to:
Erosion only
Tectonic plate movement
Rainfall
Wind only
11. A valley is often formed by:
A volcanic eruption only
A river cutting through land over time
Wind erosion only
Tectonic uplift only
12. A river slowly cutting a deep channel through rock over thousands of years is an example of:
Erosion
A plain
A tectonic plate
Weather only
13. Which force is mainly responsible for pushing land upward to form mountains?
Wind
Tectonic plate movement
Rain
Rivers only
14. Weathering is different from erosion because weathering:
Moves broken rock elsewhere
Breaks rock down without necessarily moving it
Only happens underwater
Never happens on Earth
15. The Grand Canyon was formed mainly by:
A single storm
A river eroding rock over millions of years
Wind alone
Government construction
16. Two of Earth's tectonic plates slowly colliding over millions of years would most likely create:
A plain
A mountain range
A rainbow
A cloud
17. Why do landforms like mountains take so long to form?
They form instantly
Tectonic and erosion processes happen extremely slowly over huge timescales
They don't actually change
Governments build them
18. Which combination correctly describes how a valley usually forms?
A river erodes land over a long time, cutting a lower channel
A volcano erupts once
Wind blows sand into a pile
A government digs it in a week
19. Weathering and erosion are different because:
Weathering moves rock, erosion breaks it down
Weathering breaks rock down in place; erosion carries the pieces away
They are exactly the same process
Neither actually changes landforms
20. A flat, wide plain is most likely formed by:
Tectonic plates colliding violently
Long-term deposits of sediment and gradual erosion flattening the land
A single earthquake
Nothing, plains have always existed unchanged
21. Why are landforms considered a slow, ongoing process rather than a one-off event?
Because they form in a single day
Because forces like erosion, weathering and tectonic movement act continuously over huge timescales
Because they never actually change
Because only humans can create them
Answer key (parent copy)
1. Earth's surface
2. Landforms
3. Erosion
4. Valley
5. Plain
6. Rainbow
7. Long periods of time
8. Erosion
9. Plain
10. Tectonic plate movement
11. A river cutting through land over time
12. Erosion
13. Tectonic plate movement
14. Breaks rock down without necessarily moving it
15. A river eroding rock over millions of years
16. A mountain range
17. Tectonic and erosion processes happen extremely slowly over huge timescales
18. A river erodes land over a long time, cutting a lower channel
19. Weathering breaks rock down in place; erosion carries the pieces away
20. Long-term deposits of sediment and gradual erosion flattening the land
21. Because forces like erosion, weathering and tectonic movement act continuously over huge timescales