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Physical Science > Ch. 27 > Flashcards

Ch. 27 Flashcards

1
Q

The process that involves the physical or chemical breakdown of materials on Earth’s surface

A

Weathering

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2
Q

Mixture of weathered rock, organic matter, water, and air that is capable of supporting plant life

A

Soil

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3
Q

The removal of surface material through the process of weathering

A

Erosion

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4
Q

When erosional agents like water, ice, wind, and gravity move eroded materials from one place to another

A

Sediment Transport

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5
Q

Process when the erosional agents slow down or melts, it drops this sediment load

A

Deposition

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6
Q

The land area that gathers water for a major river is called a river’s

A

Drainage Basin

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7
Q

The movement of water parallel to the shoreline

A

Longshore Current

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8
Q

Do rocks weather at the same rate?

A

No, they do not weather at the same rate

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9
Q

What are the two main factors that determine how fast a rock will weather?

A

Rock Type and Landscape

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10
Q

What are the two types of weathering?

A

Mechanical and Chemical Weathering

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11
Q

What type of change happens with mechanical weathering?

A

Physical Changes

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12
Q

What type of change happens with chemical weathering?

A

Chemical Changes

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13
Q

What are the 3 specific types of mechanical weathering?

A

Frost Wedging, Biological Activity, and Collisions

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14
Q

What causes frost wedging?

A

Collected water in the cracks of a rock and then freezes

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15
Q

What is the cycle called during frost wedging?

A

Freeze-Thaw Cycle

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16
Q

What causes biological activity?

A

Plants and Animals

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17
Q

What causes weathering during collisions?

A

Rocks falling from a cliff or tumble through turbulent rivers, or rockslides

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18
Q

What is parent material?

A

The material soil is formed from

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19
Q

What are the 2 types of chemical weathering caused by?

A

Oxygen and Water

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20
Q

What is the chemical process that is caused by oxygen?

A

Oxidation

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21
Q

What is the chemical process called that is caused by water?

A

Hydrolysis

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22
Q

What are soil horizons?

A

All the different layers of soil

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23
Q

How many soil horizons are there?

A

6

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24
Q

True or False. All soils contain every soil horizon.

A

False

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25
What are the specific soil horizons?
O, A, E, B, C, and R Horizon
26
What does the first soil horizon contain?
Organic material
27
What is the second horizon mostly made up of?
Mostly Minerals
28
Which layer does leaching occur?
E Horizon
29
Which horizon collects materials from previous horizons?
B Horizon
30
Which layer is partially weathered bedrock?
C Horizon
31
Which layer is unweathered bedrock?
R Horizon
32
Which soil horizons make up the topsoil?
O and A Horizons
33
Which soil horizons make up the subsoil?
E and B Subsoil
34
Which soil horizons make up the true soil?
O, A, E, and B Horizon
35
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Weathering is the breakdown of materials, and erosion is the removal of surface material
36
If the slope of river decreases, what happens to the speed of the river?
The river's speed decreases
37
Small streams that flow into larger rivers are called _______?
Tributaries
38
Land area that gathers water for a major river is called a _________?
Drainage Basin
39
A boundary that separates distinct drainage basins is called a _______ _______?
Drainage Divide
40
As water flows downhill under the influence of gravity, water erodes Earth's surface creating ________?
Channels
41
Young rivers are ________ due to the fast movement
V-Shaped
42
______ rivers are wide with smooth and gentle slopes
Mature
43
When rivers flood and drop their sediment load, which type of land form is created?
Flood Plains
44
What is a fan-shaped sediment deposit that forms at the mouth of a river?
Deltas
45
What are distributaries?
They are the branching channels within deltas
46
What landform forms where the mouth of a river, or stream enters dry land?
Alluvial Plains
47
What are the two types of glaciers?
Valley Glaciers and Continental Glaciers
48
Where do valley glaciers form?
High, Mountainous Regions
49
Where do continental glaciers form?
Colder Climates, and occupy large land areas
50
Where are the two continental glaciers located?
Greenland and Antarctica
51
What is a cirque?
Bowl Shaped Basin
52
What is an arete?
Long, Sharp Ridgeline between two Tributary Glaciers
53
What is a horn in a mountainous region?
Sharpened Peaks
54
What shape of valley do valley glaciers form?
U-Shaped Valleys
55
What are tributary glaciers?
Small glaciers that feed into a large glacier
56
What type of valleys do tributary glaciers form?
Hanging Valleys
57
Which side of the sand dune does erosion occur?
The Windward Side
58
Which side of the sand dune does deposition occur?
The Leeward Side
59
The removal of small particles by wind, leaving heavier particles behind
Deflation
60
When small particles are removed, the remaining surface is ______ _______
Desert Pavement
61
What three things, due to wind, do the shape and sizes of landforms, due to wind, depend on?
Wind Speed, Amount of Time the Wind Blows, and Sediment Supply
62
What are three landforms, that are shaped due to wave erosion?
Coastal Cliffs, Sea Arches, and Sea Stacks
63
What are two landforms that are created by wind deposition?
Sand Bars and Sand Spits
64
What are Sand Bars?
Landforms that are parallel to the shoreline
65
What are Sand Spits?
Similar to Sand Bars, but it curves back
66
What can cause Mass Wasting?
Snow, Heavy Rains, Earthquakes, or Human Activity
67
What are examples of Mass Wasting?
Rock Slides, Mudflows, and Landslides
68
The process by which water enters Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface
Infiltration
69
The upper boundary of the saturated zone
Water Table
70
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space
Aquifer
71
The percentage of the material's total volume that is pore space
Porosity
72
The process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event
Absolute Dating
73
The process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time
Relative Dating
74
Principle that states that the laws of nature operate today as they have in the past
Uniformitarianism
75
Principle that states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the youngest will be at top and the oldest rock will be at the bottom
Principle of Superposition
76
Gaps in the rocks record during which either erosion occurred or deposition was absent
Uncomformities
77
The remains of organisms found in the geologic rock record
Fossils
78
What percentage of water on Earth is salt water?
97%
79
What percentage of water on Earth is freshwater?
3%
80
Where is the majority of freshwater found?
Glaciers
81
Where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found?
Ground Water
82
What is precipitation?
When water vapor in the air cools and condenses (ex. rain, snow, sleet, or hail)
83
What is runoff?
Water running off the land surface
84
What is infiltration?
Where water enters the Earth's surface, and can become groundwater below the surface
85
What is transpiration?
When plants releases water vapor into the atmosphere through their leaves
86
What is evaporation?
When water enters the atmosphere as water vapor
87
What is condensation?
When water vapor collides with other water vapor molecules to form water droplets
88
What is the water cycle?
When water on land, goes into atmosphere, and eventually returns into the land
89
What is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage?
A porous area where water can easily pass through
90
What is a saturated zone for groundwater storage?
Area beneath the unsaturated zone, where water completely fills the pore space
91
What is a water table?
The upper boundary of the saturated zone
92
What does it mean if sediment is permeable?
The more permeable, the easier water can infiltrate through the ground
93
What is an aquifer?
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space
94
What is the name of the Great Plains Aquifer?
Ogallala Aquifer
95
How many states does the Great Plains Aquifer run through?
8
96
What are the names of the states that the Great Plains Aquifer runs through?
South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas
97
What is an aquitard?
A impermeable layer that confines water
98
How are water springs formed?
When the water table naturally meets Earth's surface
99
What is an artesian well?
Wells drilled into pressurized aquifers, formed when an aquifer is sandwiched between aquitards
100
What is a cone of depression?
The direction that the water flows, down towards the well

Physical Science (6 decks)

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