MS-ESS2-2: Fast and Slow Changes to Earth's Surface
Also called NGSS MS-ESS2-2 · Topic: History of Earth · Earth and Space Science
The Official Wording
Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth's surface at varying time and spatial scales.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on how processes change Earth’s surface at time and spatial scales that can be large (such as slow plate motions or the uplift of large mountain ranges) or small (such as rapid landslides or microscopic geochemical reactions), and how many geoscience processes (such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and meteor impacts) usually behave gradually but are punctuated by catastrophic events. Examples of geoscience processes include surface weathering and deposition by the movements of water, ice, and wind. Emphasis is on geoscience processes that shape local geographic features, where appropriate.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What MS-ESS2-2 Means in Plain English
Middle schoolers explain, with evidence, how processes like weathering, erosion, deposition and plate motion reshape Earth's surface. Some changes take millions of years and span continents, while others, like a landslide, happen in minutes on a single hillside. Students look for both kinds near home.
Students also see that slow processes can be interrupted by sudden events, such as an earthquake or a flood. This builds on weathering and erosion in 4th grade (4-ESS2-1) and leads to how Earth's internal and surface processes build features (HS-ESS2-1).
MS-ESS2-2 I Can Statements
- I can describe processes that change Earth's surface quickly and slowly.
- I can use evidence to explain how a landform was shaped.
- I can compare changes that happen in minutes with ones over millions of years.
MS-ESS2-2 Worked Example
A tabletop slope of damp sand that shows slow erosion and a sudden collapse in one model.
How does the same slope change under light rain compared with a soaking downpour?
Set It Up: A plastic tub with a damp sand slope packed against one end, a spray bottle, a cup of water and a ruler.
- Measure the slope's height and sketch its shape.Height 12 cm, smooth face
- Mist the slope with 20 sprays every minute for 5 minutes.Small gullies form, sand fans out at the base
- Measure and sketch again.Height still 12 cm, face grooved
- Pour a full cup of water onto the top of the slope at once.Front of the slope slumps in seconds
- Measure and sketch the new shape.Height 7 cm, a heap of sand at the base
Gentle misting carved small gullies slowly, while one soaking made a large part of the slope collapse almost instantly.
Why it works: Running water moves sediment a little at a time, but soaking makes a slope heavy and weak enough that gravity pulls a whole section down.
Common Mistakes with MS-ESS2-2
Thinking Earth's surface does not change
“Mountains have always looked the way they do now.”
Try this: Mountains rise and wear down over millions of years. Changes too slow to see in a lifetime still add up to huge differences.
Counting only dramatic events
“Only volcanoes and earthquakes change the land.”
Try this: Wind, water and ice reshape land every day. Small, steady changes added over long periods can carve canyons and flatten hills.
Mixing up weathering and erosion
“Weathering is when the river carries the rocks away.”
Try this: Weathering breaks rock into smaller pieces where it sits. Erosion is the moving of those pieces by water, wind, ice or gravity.
Where MS-ESS2-2 Fits
Practice MS-ESS2-2
Quick Check
- Name a process that changes Earth's surface in minutes and one that takes millions of years.
- A river delta keeps growing at the river's mouth. Which process builds it?
- Why might a hillside that stood for years suddenly slide after heavy rain?