Section 1 Vocab
The process that breaks down rock and other substances
weathering
The loose, weathered material on Earth's surface in which plants can grow.
Soil
The type of weathering in which rock is physically broken into smaller pieces.
Mechanical weathering
pH of soil is talking about
The acidity
8-14 on the pH scale mean the soil is this.
Basic
The process of wearing down and carrying away rocks.
Erosion
Rich, fertile soil that is made of equal parts of clay, sand, and silt.
Loam
Abrasion is an agent of this type of weathering.
Mechanical weathering
Which type of soil is best for growing plants?
Loam
The two factors that affect the rate of weathering.
Type of rock and climate
The grinding away of rock by other rock particles carried in water, ice, or wind.
Abrasion
An organism that gets energy by breaking down biotic wastes and dead organisms, and returns raw materials to the soil and water.
Decomposer
Acid rain is an agent of this type of weathering.
Chemical weathering
Which is the largest soil particle in size?
Gravel
Name three organisms that mix soil.
Answers vary.
Mole, earthworm, mice, snake, etc.
Characteristic of a material that contains connected air spaces, or pores, that water can seep through easily.
Permeable
Dark colored organic material in soil.
Humus
Name 3 agents of mechanical weathering.
Animal action, freezing and thawing, plant growth, release of pressure, and abrasion
Soil horizons are stacked in this order from top to bottom.
ABC
Describe what decomposers do and what they make.
Decomposers break down dead things and make humus.
The geologic principle that the same geologic processes that operate today operated in the past to change the Earth's surface.
Uniformitarianism
The crumbly, topmost, layer of soil made up of clay, and other materials and lots of humus.
Topsoil
Name three agents of chemical weathering.
Water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, acid rain, living organisms
Name the three characteristics of soil.
Fertility, texture, pH
Describe the difference between weathering and erosion.
Weathering is the breaking down while erosion is the breaking don and carrying away. Erosion includes movement of the weathered material.