Geography Chapter 15

Front 1

What is the process that breaks rock material into smaller pieces by atmospheric and biotic agents?

Back 1

-Weathering

Front 2

What impact do rock openings have on weathering processes?

Back 2

-They increase the surface area exposed to weathering.

Front 3

What type of rock opening is most important in facilitating weathering?

Back 3

-Joints

Front 4

Why does water frozen in the cracks of a rock help to break down the rock?

Back 4

-Water expands when frozen and physically forces the rock apart.

Front 5

What is salt weathering?

Back 5

-The formation of minerals in rock cracks during the evaporation of salty water, forcing rock apart.

Front 6

What do freeze-thaw and salt weathering have in common?

Back 6

-Both freeze-thaw and salt weathering require rain and force rocks apart physically

Front 7

What is the agent of erosion associated with mass wasting?

Back 7

-Gravity

Front 8

In which location would frost wedging have the most impact?

Back 8

-Maine

Front 9

Which statement correctly describes the impact of climate on weathering?

Back 9

-Weathering is least active in deserts.

Front 10

classifications describing how rock and other material move downslope?

Back 10

-fall, slide, slump, creep, flow

Front 11

What is mass movement?

Back 11

-movement of material under the influence of gravity alone

Front 12

How is a fall different from creep?

Back 12

-Falls occur rapidly and in areas with high slope
-creep occurs slowly in areas with low slope

Front 13

How are slumps and slides related?

Back 13

-Slumps are a type of slide in the special case where the rupture surface is curved

Front 14

How are debris avalanches and flows related?

Back 14

-Debris avalanches are large, rapid flows of rock.

Front 15

Which type of mass movement event requires the addition of water?

Back 15

-flow

Front 16

How does water influence mass wasting?

Back 16

-Water acts as a lubricant.

Front 17

What type of mass wasting involves the greatest amount of water?

Back 17

-Flow

Front 18

What is the distinctive trait of a slump?

Back 18

-involve movement along a curved surface

Front 19

How do mudflows and earthflows differ?

Back 19

-Mudflows are the wettest type of mass wasting.

Front 20

If an old retaining wall at the base of a slope is cracked and tilted forward, what type of mass wasting is most likely responsible?

Back 20

-Creep

Front 21

Denudation

Back 21

-the total effect go all actions that lower the surface of continents
-(weathering, mass wasting, erosion)

Front 22

Weathering

Back 22

-physical and chemical disintegration of rock near the surface of the earth
-animals, plants, atmosphere, and water are the main causes
-1st process in shaping the surface

Front 23

Mass wasting

Back 23

-soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope typically as a mass
-gravity is responsible

Front 24

Erosion

Back 24

-Detachment, removal, and transportation of rock material

Front 25

Talus

Back 25

-slope formed by accumulation of rock debris
-pieces of weathered rock of different sizes that fall downslope
-forms at the base of a steep slope

Front 26

What is the relationship between mass wasting and gravity?

Back 26

-the greater the mass the larger the gravitational force
-the more rock, the greater the pull of gravity will be

Front 27

Rock fall

Back 27

-one or a few rocks that detach from the high part of a steep slope
-mass wasting of weathered rock that falls to the foot of a cliff

Front 28

Earth flow

Back 28

-downslope viscous flow of fine-grained materials that have been saturated with water
-moves a short distance downhill

Front 29

Mud flow

Back 29

-downhill movement of soft wet earth and debris, made fluid by rain or melted snow and often building up great speed

Front 30

Landslide

Back 30

-Rock and soil slide downslope in only a few secs or mins
-collapse of a slope

Front 31

What three things happen to the terrain after a landslide?

Back 31

-deep scar, exposing bedrock and debris
-mass material chokes the valley at the bottom with debris
-natural dam my form , blocking the valley bottom stream and producing a new lake

Front 32

Fault

Back 32

-a break in the rock that make up Earth's crust
-rocks on either side moved past each other
-occur in small numbers

Front 33

Joints

Back 33

-tiny hairline cracks that are not all the way broken through
-numerous
-Both sides of the rock are still held together with enough strength that they move together

Front 34

Why is clay a facilitator of mass wasting?

Back 34

-clay absorbes water
-clay that is combined with fine grained textures can become slippery
-it is heavy and anything resting on it can be set in motion by rainfall or earthquake

Front 35

Name three ways that weathered material can be transported to another location.

Back 35

-angle of repose
-water, wind, soil
-clay

Front 36

Solifluction

Back 36

-soil flowage only in high altitudes
-special kind of "creep" that has distinctive surface appearance "fish scales"
-the movement is irregular and slowly sags downslope

Front 37

When you see a titled telephone pole on a hill, what is the most likely explanation for this tilt?

Back 37

-creep

Front 38

Exfoliation

Back 38

-"layers of an onion"
-curved layers peel off bedrock in sheets
-aka unloading

Front 39

Describe the ways that mechanical weathering can occur.

Back 39

-Frost wedging= freeze and thaw action
-salt wedging= salt crystalizes and water evaporates
-temp change= can cause expansion and contraction

Front 40

Hydrolysis

Back 40

-Chemical union of water with another substance
-produces a new compound that is softer and weaker than the original

Front 41

Why is water such an important agent in weathering?

Back 41

-it is a good solvent and carrier of acid

Front 42

What happens to water when it freezes and what effect does that have on weathering?

Back 42

-it expands
-when water in soil freezes, the soil particles get displaced upward

Front 43

How does most biological weathering occur?

Back 43

-penetration of growing plant roots into cracks

Front 44

In what types of climates is weathering most likely to occur?

Back 44

-tropical rainforest
-warm and wet

Front 45

Salt wedging

Back 45

-water evaporates, crystalized slat particles are left behind
-they then grow and cause pressure of rocks causing them to split apart

Front 46

Frost shattering

Back 46

-during warmer weather water seeps into rock cracks
-when cold weather comes the water then freezes and expands
-resulting in widening of joints and cracks
-this is a more effective mechanical weathering process

Front 47

Carbonation

Back 47

-fizz is the process of dissolving carbon dioxide in a liquid.