Unit Five - Weathering and Erosion - Weathering

Question 1

What is weathering?

Answer 1

The breakdown of rock at or near the Earth’s surface.

Question 2

What are sediments?

Answer 2

Rock Fragments

Question 3

What are the three causes of the weathering of rocks?

Answer 3

1. Air
2. Water
3. Actions of Living Things

Question 4

What is Chemical Weathering (2)?

Answer 4

1. The breakdown of rock
2. Change in mineral or chemical composition

Question 5

When does chemical weathering increase? Why?

Answer 5

Warm & Moist Climates

Causes more rainfall, speeding up the chemical reactions between rainwater and rock

Question 6

What is Oxidation? (3)

Answer 6

1. Type of Chemical Weathering
2. The rusting of a material
3. Interaction of iron and oxygen.

Question 7

What type of weathering is oxidation (3)?

Answer 7

1. Chemical weathering
2. Rock rusts because the iron in the material is exposed to oxygen
3. The composition changes to iron oxide.

Question 8

How does water affect a rock? (4)

Answer 8

1. Water+ Carbon Dioxide = Carbonic Acid (dissolves any rock especially limestone)
2. Frost Action
3. Can weather, smooth, erode, and deposit rock through a running river
4. Water itself can dissolve anything

Water is sometime called the universal solvent because given enough time, it can dissolve anything.

Question 9

What is a sinkhole (3)?

Answer 9

1. A natrual depression in land.
2. Collapse of a cavern roof
3. This happens because water dissolves the solid particles

Cavern roof means the top of a cave

Question 10

What is Physical Weathering?

Answer 10

The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces without chemical change.

Question 11

What is Abrasion

Answer 11

Rock particles grind against each other

Sandpaper, Nailfile

Question 12

What is a charactersistic of abrasion and what are the four causes?

Answer 12

Smooth & Rounded

1. Ice
2. Running water
3. Gravity
4. Air

Question 13

What is Frost Action (5)?

Answer 13

1. Physical Weathering
2. Water infiltrates cracks in the bedrock
3. Freezes
4. Expands 10%
5. The rock splits apart.

Question 14

Definition of Infiltration

Answer 14

Water enters a substance.

Question 15

What is plant root growth?

Answer 15

A plant grows inside the cracks of a rock
Spreads the cracks

Question 16

Abrupt Temperature Changes (3)

Answer 16

1. Temperature Increases
2. Rock Expands
3. Rock Fractures

Question 17

What are the four examples of physical weathering?

Answer 17

1. Frost Action
2. Abrasion
3. Plant Root Growth
4. Abrupt Temperature Changes