Term
| When does mechanical weathering occur? |
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Definition
| When physical forces break rock into smaller and smaller pieces without changing the rock's mineral composition |
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Term
| Name three physical processes that cause mechanical weathering. |
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Definition
| frost wedging, unloading, biological activity |
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Term
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Definition
| the mechanical breakup of rock caused by the expansion of freezing water in cracks and cervices |
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Term
| Slabs of outer rock separate like the layers of an onion and break loose in a process called... |
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Definition
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Term
| What is meant by biological activity? |
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Definition
| the mechanical weathering from the activities of organisms: plants, burrowing animals, & humans |
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Term
| ____________ is the most important agent of chemical weathering. |
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Definition
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Term
| Can chemical weathering change the physical shape of a rock? |
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Definition
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Term
| What two factors affect the rate of weathering? |
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Definition
| rock characteristics and climate |
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Term
| Give an example of a rock characteristic. |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| layer of rock and mineral fragments produced by weathering |
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Term
| Name the 4 major components of soil. |
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Definition
| mineral matter, organic matter, water, air |
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Term
| What are the most important factors in soil formation? |
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Definition
| parent material, climate, time, organisms & slope |
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Term
| Soil varies in compostion, ____________, ____________, and _____________ at different depths. |
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Definition
| texture, structure, and color |
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Term
| What are the three common types of soil? |
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Definition
| pedalfer, pedocal, laterite |
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Term
| How do human activities affect rates of erosion? |
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Definition
| By removing natural vegetation, such as farming, logging, and construction, humans speed up the effects of erosion |
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Term
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Definition
| the transfer of rock & soil down-slope due to gravity |
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Term
| What triggers mass movement? |
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Definition
| saturation of surface materials by water, over-steepening of slopes, removal of vegetation, earthquakes |
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Term
| How do geologists classify mass movement? |
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Definition
| based on the kind of material that moves, how it moves, and speed of the movement |
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Term
| When does rockfall occur? |
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Definition
| when rocks or rock fragments fall freely through the air |
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Term
| How do mudflows differ from earthflows? |
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Definition
mudflows move quickly
earthflows are relatively slow |
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Term
| Explain chemical weathering. |
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Definition
| the transformation of rock into one or more new compounds |
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