Mechanical Weathering
The process of breaking down rock and minerals
True or False: The greater the surface area of a rock or mineral compared to its volume, the faster it will weather.
True
The downhill movement of large amounts of rock and sediment due to the force of gravity
Mass wasting
Flat land alongside a river that tends to flood
Floodplain
The order in which sedimentary rock layers are formed--from larger to finer particles
Direction of younging
Mechanical weathering is also sometimes called what?
Physical weathering
Two plants that cause chemical weathering on rocks are _______ and ________.
Moss and lichen
An event that occurs when soil particles become surrounded by water and the ground slides away
Slumping
S-shaped curve in a river
Meander
Mechanical weathering that results from freezing water
Frost wedging
The weathering process by which oxygen combines with metals in minerals
Oxidation
The process of depositing sediment after it has been moved by water, wind, ice or gravity.
Deposition
True or False: A strong V-shaped valley indicates a river is fairly young or near its source
True
Biological weathering
The result of the weathering of rocks and minerals
Sediment
A layer of sediment with the largest particles at the bottom and smallest on top
Graded bedding
A stream that has many channels that criss-cross each other
Braided stream
Weathering process that results in rock layers peeling away
Exfoliation
Granite
A pattern of alternating beds of sediment that often form as wind and water deposit the sediments
Cross bedding
A curved lake that results from a meander being cut off from the river that created it.
Oxbow lake