Final answer:
The statement is false; heavier particles with higher specific gravity settle first when water slows down, due to gravity's stronger influence compared to lighter particles with a low specific gravity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that low specific gravity minerals (less heavy minerals) will drop out of moving water first if the water speed decreases is false. In sedimentation and particle sorting processes, it is typically the heavier and larger particles that settle first when the velocity of water decreases, due to the dominant effect of gravitational forces over frictional forces. Since heavier particles have a higher specific gravity, they will succumb more readily to gravity and settle before lighter particles with lower specific gravity, which remain suspended longer in the moving water.
This principle is relevant in understanding the natural sorting of sediments in riverbeds and other water bodies, where finer silt and clay may travel farther from the source, while sands and gravels settle more quickly in areas where the current slows down.