Weathering
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Weathering breaks rock down; erosion moves it.
What is deposition?
Deposition is when sediment is dropped after being transported.
How is a canyon formed?
Formed by long-term river erosion cutting through rock.
What are the three main types of rocks?
Sedimentary, Igneous, Metamorphic
How does climate affect erosion rates?
Wet climates increase erosion; dry climates increase wind erosion.
Which type of weathering breaks rock without changing its chemical makeup?
Mechanical weathering
Where does deposition usually occur in a river?
At the mouth of a river or where water slows down.
What causes a delta to form?
Sediment is deposited where a river meets a larger body of water.
What type of rock are fossils often found in and why?
Fossils are often found in sedimentary rock, because organisms die, and layers of sediment slowly compact and concrete those layers around the fossil over millions of years.
Why might a desert experience more mechanical weathering than chemical weathering?
Deserts lack moisture, so chemical weathering is limited; temperature changes cause mechanical weathering.
What is ice wedging and how does it work?
Ice wedging occurs when water freezes in cracks, expands, and breaks rock apart.
What landform forms from wind deposition?
Dunes
How can human activity increase erosion?
Removing vegetation, construction, pavement, farming.
What does streak test?
The color of a mineral’s powder.
Which could cause more runoff, compacted clay or loose sand? and WHY?!
compacted clay because water can not easily seep into the ground and be absorbed.
What type of weathering occurs when acid rain reacts with limestone?
Chemical weathering
What is runoff and when does it increase?
Runoff is water flowing over land; it increases when soil is saturated, compacted, or lacks vegetation.
What landforms are created by deposition? (3)
Delta, sandbar, dune, floodplain.
What does luster measure?
How light reflects from a mineral. *Metallic or not*
If a river suddenly speeds up, what will happen to erosion?
Erosion increases.
Why does increasing surface area speed up chemical weathering?
More surface area allows more chemical reactions to occur.
How do glaciers change landforms?
Glaciers carve valleys and move large amounts of sediment.
What landform is created by river erosion?
Canyon or valley.
What is cleavage?
Breaks along smooth, flat surfaces.
What is hardness in minerals?
A mineral’s resistance to scratching or how easily it is scratched