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Physical Science > Ch. 27 > Flashcards

Ch. 27 Flashcards

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Biology 101 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
Q

What are the specific soil horizons?

A

O, A, E, B, C, and R Horizon

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26
Q

What does the first soil horizon contain?

A

Organic material

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27
Q

What is the second horizon mostly made up of?

A

Mostly Minerals

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28
Q

Which layer does leaching occur?

A

E Horizon

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29
Q

Which horizon collects materials from previous horizons?

A

B Horizon

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30
Q

Which layer is partially weathered bedrock?

A

C Horizon

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31
Q

Which layer is unweathered bedrock?

A

R Horizon

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32
Q

Which soil horizons make up the topsoil?

A

O and A Horizons

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33
Q

Which soil horizons make up the subsoil?

A

E and B Subsoil

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34
Q

Which soil horizons make up the true soil?

A

O, A, E, and B Horizon

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35
Q

What is the difference between weathering and erosion?

A

Weathering is the breakdown of materials, and erosion is the removal of surface material

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36
Q

If the slope of river decreases, what happens to the speed of the river?

A

The river’s speed decreases

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37
Q

Small streams that flow into larger rivers are called _______?

A

Tributaries

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38
Q

Land area that gathers water for a major river is called a _________?

A

Drainage Basin

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39
Q

A boundary that separates distinct drainage basins is called a _______ _______?

A

Drainage Divide

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40
Q

As water flows downhill under the influence of gravity, water erodes Earth’s surface creating ________?

A

Channels

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41
Q

Young rivers are ________ due to the fast movement

A

V-Shaped

42
Q

______ rivers are wide with smooth and gentle slopes

A

Mature

43
Q

When rivers flood and drop their sediment load, which type of land form is created?

A

Flood Plains

44
Q

What is a fan-shaped sediment deposit that forms at the mouth of a river?

A

Deltas

45
Q

What are distributaries?

A

They are the branching channels within deltas

46
Q

What landform forms where the mouth of a river, or stream enters dry land?

A

Alluvial Plains

47
Q

What are the two types of glaciers?

A

Valley Glaciers and Continental Glaciers

48
Q

Where do valley glaciers form?

A

High, Mountainous Regions

49
Q

Where do continental glaciers form?

A

Colder Climates, and occupy large land areas

50
Q

Where are the two continental glaciers located?

A

Greenland and Antarctica

51
Q

What is a cirque?

A

Bowl Shaped Basin

52
Q

What is an arete?

A

Long, Sharp Ridgeline between two Tributary Glaciers

53
Q

What is a horn in a mountainous region?

A

Sharpened Peaks

54
Q

What shape of valley do valley glaciers form?

A

U-Shaped Valleys

55
Q

What are tributary glaciers?

A

Small glaciers that feed into a large glacier

56
Q

What type of valleys do tributary glaciers form?

A

Hanging Valleys

57
Q

Which side of the sand dune does erosion occur?

A

The Windward Side

58
Q

Which side of the sand dune does deposition occur?

A

The Leeward Side

59
Q

The removal of small particles by wind, leaving heavier particles behind

A

Deflation

60
Q

When small particles are removed, the remaining surface is ______ _______

A

Desert Pavement

61
Q

What three things, due to wind, do the shape and sizes of landforms, due to wind, depend on?

A

Wind Speed, Amount of Time the Wind Blows, and Sediment Supply

62
Q

What are three landforms, that are shaped due to wave erosion?

A

Coastal Cliffs, Sea Arches, and Sea Stacks

63
Q

What are two landforms that are created by wind deposition?

A

Sand Bars and Sand Spits

64
Q

What are Sand Bars?

A

Landforms that are parallel to the shoreline

65
Q

What are Sand Spits?

A

Similar to Sand Bars, but it curves back

66
Q

What can cause Mass Wasting?

A

Snow, Heavy Rains, Earthquakes, or Human Activity

67
Q

What are examples of Mass Wasting?

A

Rock Slides, Mudflows, and Landslides

68
Q

The process by which water enters Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface

A

Infiltration

69
Q

The upper boundary of the saturated zone

A

Water Table

70
Q

A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space

A

Aquifer

71
Q

The percentage of the material’s total volume that is pore space

A

Porosity

72
Q

The process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event

A

Absolute Dating

73
Q

The process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time

A

Relative Dating

74
Q

Principle that states that the laws of nature operate today as they have in the past

A

Uniformitarianism

75
Q

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

A

Principle of Superposition

76
Q

Gaps in the rocks record during which either erosion occurred or deposition was absent

A

Uncomformities

77
Q

The remains of organisms found in the geologic rock record

A

Fossils

78
Q

What percentage of water on Earth is salt water?

A

97%

79
Q

What percentage of water on Earth is freshwater?

A

3%

80
Q

Where is the majority of freshwater found?

A

Glaciers

81
Q

Where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found?

A

Ground Water

82
Q

What is precipitation?

A

When water vapor in the air cools and condenses (ex. rain, snow, sleet, or hail)

83
Q

What is runoff?

A

Water running off the land surface

84
Q

What is infiltration?

A

Where water enters the Earth’s surface, and can become groundwater below the surface

85
Q

What is transpiration?

A

When plants releases water vapor into the atmosphere through their leaves

86
Q

What is evaporation?

A

When water enters the atmosphere as water vapor

87
Q

What is condensation?

A

When water vapor collides with other water vapor molecules to form water droplets

88
Q

What is the water cycle?

A

When water on land, goes into atmosphere, and eventually returns into the land

89
Q

What is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage?

A

A porous area where water can easily pass through

90
Q

What is a saturated zone for groundwater storage?

A

Area beneath the unsaturated zone, where water completely fills the pore space

91
Q

What is a water table?

A

The upper boundary of the saturated zone

92
Q

What does it mean if sediment is permeable?

A

The more permeable, the easier water can infiltrate through the ground

93
Q

What is an aquifer?

A

A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space

94
Q

What is the name of the Great Plains Aquifer?

A

Ogallala Aquifer

95
Q

How many states does the Great Plains Aquifer run through?

A

8

96
Q

What are the names of the states that the Great Plains Aquifer runs through?

A

South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas

97
Q

What is an aquitard?

A

A impermeable layer that confines water

98
Q

How are water springs formed?

A

When the water table naturally meets Earth’s surface

99
Q

What is an artesian well?

A

Wells drilled into pressurized aquifers, formed when an aquifer is sandwiched between aquitards

100
Q

What is a cone of depression?

A

The direction that the water flows, down towards the well

Physical Science (6 decks)

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