Mission briefing

Two routes. One evidence-based decision.

You are joining a South African field team. First look below the surface, then trace how rock becomes soil, vegetation and habitat.

6–8 minutes

Route ARounded rock · pale sand · marula clue

Route BBlocky rock · fine soil · different plant community

Your answer can change when the evidence changes.That is not weakness. That is how field science works.

Station 1 · Earth Engine

Build Earth from the inside out.

Select or drag each label to its target. Use position and state of matter—not colour alone.

0 / 4 placed

Layer labels

Tap a label, then tap its target—or drag it.

Photorealistic cutaway of Earth with four concentric internal layers

Select a layer label to begin.

Station 2 · Rock Lab

Match texture to origin story.

Inspect the real-world texture first. Identification comes after observation.

0 / 4 matched

Match all four samples to their formation process.

Station 3 · Cycle Builder

Turn a basalt pebble into sedimentary rock.

Choose the next process in order. Ask two questions: has the rock broken, and has the material moved?

0 / 3 processes

Basalt pebbleStarting rock

Process 1Breakdown

Process 2Movement

Process 3Settling

Loose sedimentCollected grains

Compaction + cementationPressure and mineral cement bind grains

Choose the process that first breaks exposed basalt into smaller pieces.

Station 4 · Sculptor Scan

Read the evidence on one rock surface.

Inspect each numbered hotspot and classify the process. Remember: breakdown is weathering; movement is erosion.

0 / 4 classified

Lowveld rock outcrop with a crack, iron-oxide stain, root-widened joint and downslope sediment fan

Final field call

Where would you search first for elephants?

Choose a route, then build the evidence chain. A field hypothesis improves the odds—it never guarantees an animal.

Evidence chain

Build your three-link explanation

Choose a route above

1 · Bedrock

2 · Soil tendency

3 · Plant clue

4 · Scientific claim

Start by choosing the route whose rock–soil–plant chain includes a strong elephant feeding clue.

◆

Ground ReaderEvidence before conclusion

Mission complete

You can read the story beneath a living landscape.

You used deep-Earth structure, rock texture, the rock cycle and surface change to make a careful field prediction.

granite→sandy soil tendency→marula clue→better odds, never certainty

Field note: observe first, identify second, and keep conclusions proportional to the evidence.