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Geography GCSE > Weathering and Mass Movement > Flashcards

Weathering and Mass Movement Flashcards

1
Q

What is a cliff?

A

A steep high rock face formed by weathering and erosion.

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2
Q

What is weathering?

A

The weakening or decay of rocks in their original place on, or close to, the ground surface.

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3
Q

What are the three types of weathering?

A

Mechanical, chemical and biological.

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4
Q

What are the mechanical weathering processes?

A

Freeze-thaw weathering and salt weathering.

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5
Q

What is the chemical weathering process?

A

Carbonation.

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6
Q

What are the biological weathering processes?

A

Flora and fauna.

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7
Q

By how much does water expand when it freezes?

A

9%.

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8
Q

What is scree?

A

Piles of rock fragments at the foot of cliffs.

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9
Q

What does sea water leave behind when it evaporates?

A

Salt crystals.

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10
Q

How do salt crystals put pressure on the rock?

A

They grow.

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11
Q

What are pores?

A

Cracks and holes in rock.

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12
Q

Name two alkaline rocks.

A

Limestone and chalk.

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13
Q

What does rainwater absorb from the air?

A

CO2.

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14
Q

What does rainwater turn after absorbing CO2 from the air?

A

Slightly acidic.

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15
Q

What results in a chemical reaction in carbonation?

A

The contact with the alkaline rocks (chalk or limestone) and the acidic rainwater.

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16
Q

What grows in pores and faults in the rock?

A

Roots of plants.

17
Q

What does roots of plants growing in pores in the rock result in?

A

The cracks expanding, splitting the rock.

18
Q

Give an example of an animal that may burrow into weak rock (e.g., sand).

A

Rabbits.

19
Q

What is erosion?

A

Wearing away and removal of material by a moving force, such as a breaking wave.​

20
Q

What does impermeable mean?

A

Resistant material that is Impossible for water to soak into.

21
Q

What does permeable mean?

A

Less resistant material that is possible for water to soak through.

22
Q

What does saturate mean?

A

When the small pores and cracks are filled with water and cannot hold anymore water.

23
Q

What is the base?

A

The bottom of the cliff.

24
Q

What is mass movement?

A

Downward movement of weathered material under the force of gravitational pull.

25
Q

Name the 5 erosional processes.

A

Solution, attrition, abrasion, corrasion, hydraulic action.

26
Q

What is solution?

A

The dissolving of soluble chemicals in rocks e.g. limestone.​

27
Q

What is hydraulic action?

A

The power of the waves as they smash onto a cliff. Trapped air is forced into holes and cracks in the rock eventually causing the rock to break apart. The explosive force of trapped air operating in a crack is called cavitation.

28
Q

What is attrition?

A

Rock fragments carried by the sea knock against one another causing them to become smaller and rounder.

29
Q

What is corrasion?

A

Fragments of rock are picked up and hurled by the sea at a cliff. The rocks act like tools scraping and gouging to erode the rock.

30
Q

What is abrasion?

A

The is the ‘sandpapering’ effect of pebbles grinding over a rocky platform often causing it to become smooth.

31
Q

Explain the process of freeze-thaw weathering.

A

Water collects in cracks or holes (pores) in the rock.

At night this water freezes and expands and makes the cracks in the rock bigger.

When the temperature rises and the ice thaws (melts), water will seep deeper into the rock.

After repeated freezing and thawing, fragments on rock may break off and fall to the foot of the cliff as scree.

32
Q

Explain the process of salt weathering.

A

Seawater contains salt. When the water evaporates it leaves behind salt crystals.

In cracks and holes (pores) these salt crystals grow and expand.

This puts pressure on the rocks and flakes may eventually break off.

33
Q

Explain the process of carbonation.

A

Rainwater absorbs CO² from the air and becomes slightly acidic.

Contact with alkaline rocks (chalk and limestone) produces a chemical reaction causing the rocks to slightly dissolve.

34
Q

Explain the process of rotational slip.

A

Rotational slip forms from soft boulder clay, left behind by melting glaciers.

The soft, less resistant boulder clay is eroded through hydraulic action, where the power of the waves smashes onto the cliff. As a result, trapped air is forced into holes and cracks in the rock. The pressure builds causing the rock to break.

Abrasion also erodes to the soft boulder clay by pebbles grinding over a rocky platform often causing it to become smooth.

Prolonged rainfall saturates the permeable boulder clay which increases its weight.

Due to gravitational pull and the increased weight of the saturated boulder clay, the soft boulder clay slumps.

The debris on the beach is then eroded by the sea, leaving the cliff exposed once more.

35
Q

Explain the process of a landslide.

A

Landslides form in areas of more resistant cliff material.

More resistant rock is mainly eroded by the waves and not weathering processes.

This causes erosion at the base of the cliff, from hydraulic action where the force of the waves causes air to be trapped in the cracks and pressure causes rocks to break. In addition, abrasion causes pebbles to be grinded along the base of the cliff.

This creates a wave-cut notch in the base of the cliff.

As the notch increases in size, the weight of the cliffs above becomes too much to support, leading to a landslide.

This material will provide temporary protection for the cliff behind. However, once the sea has removed it, this process will occur again.

Wave-cut platforms will be created where cliffs are made of more resistant material.

36
Q

Explain the process of a rockfall.

A

A rockfall involves rock fragments breaking away from the cliff face, often due to freeze-thaw weathering.

Water collects in the crack or pores in the rock.

At night this water freezes and expands and makes the cracks bigger.

When the temperature rises from the morning, and the ice thaws (melts), water will seep deeper into the rock.

After repeated freezing and thawing, fragments of rock may break off and fall to the foot of the cliff as scree.

37
Q

Explain the process of a mudslide.

A

Mudslides form from boulder clay.

The less resistant, permeable boulder clay becomes saturated from prolonged rainfall.

Due to gravitational pull and the increased weight of the saturated rock, the boulder clay slides.

Sliding is faster than slumping, and mudslides occur at steeper cliffs.

Geography GCSE (11 decks)

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