Chapter 27 Flashcards
1
Q
the process that involves the physical or chemical breakdown of materials on Earth’s surface
A
weathering
2
Q
a mixture of weathered rock, organic matter, water, and air that is capable of supporting plant life
A
soil
3
Q
the removal of surface material through the process of weahtering
A
erosion
4
Q
the process in which erosional agents such as, water, ice, wind, and gravity move eroded materials from one place to another as rocks weather
A
sediment transport
5
Q
when erosional agents slow down (in the case of water, wind, or gravity) or melts (in the case of glaciers), it drops this sediment load
A
deposition
6
Q
the land area that gathers water for a major river
A
drainage basin
7
Q
the movement of water parallel to the shoreline
A
longshore current
8
Q
do rocks weather at the same rate?
A
no
9
Q
what are the two main factors that determine how fast a rock will weather?
A
rock type and landscape
10
Q
what are the two types of weathering?
A
mechanical and chemical weathering
11
Q
what type of change happens with mechanical weathering?
A
physical changes
12
Q
what type of change happens with chemical weathering?
A
chemical changes
13
Q
what causes frost wedging?
A
when water collects in the cracks of a rock, then freezes
14
Q
what is the cycle called during frost wedging?
A
freeze-thaw cycle
15
Q
what causes biological activity?
A
plant and animal activity
16
Q
what causes weathering during collisions?
A
when rocks fall from a cliff or tumble through turbulent rivers
17
Q
what is parent material?
A
what soil is formed from
18
Q
what are the two types of chemical weathering caused by?
A
oxygen and water
19
Q
what is the chemical process called that is caused by oxygen?
A
oxidation
20
Q
what is the chemical process called that is caused by water?
A
hydrolysis
21
Q
what are the soil horizons?
A
the different layers of soil
22
Q
how many soil horizons are there?
A
there are six
23
Q
true or false, all soils contain every soil horizon?
A
false
24
Q
what are the specific soil horizons?
A
O, A, E, B, C, R
25
what does the first soil horizon contain?
organic material
26
what is the second horizon mostly made up of?
mostly minerals
27
which layer does leaching occur?
layer E
28
which horizon collects materials from previous horizons?
layer B
29
which layer is partially weathered bedrock?
layer C
30
which layer is unweathered bedrock?
layer R
31
which soils horizons make up the topsoil?
layers O and A
32
which soil horizons make up the subsoil?
layers E and B
33
which soil horizons make up the true soil?
layers O, A, E, and B
34
what is the difference between weathering and erosion?
weathering breaks down material, while erosion is the removal of surface material
35
if the slope of a river, what happens to the speed of the river?
it decreases
36
what are tributaries?
small streams that flow into larger rivers
37
what is a drainage basin?
land area that gathers water for a major river
38
what is a drainage divide?
a boundary that seperates distinct drainage basins
39
what are channels?
the creation of water eroding Earth's surface, under the influence of gravity
40
young rivers are ______ due to the fast movement
v-shaped
41
what are mature rivers?
wide, smooth and gentle slopes
42
when rivers floos and drop their sediment load, what type of landform is created?
a flood plain
43
what is a fan shaped sediment deposit that forms at the mouth of a river?
a delta
44
what are the branching channels off of a delta?
distributaries
45
what landform forms where the mouth of a river or stream enters dry land?
alluvial fans
46
what are the two types of glaciers?
valley and continental glaciers
47
where do valley glaciers form?
they form in high, mountainous regions
48
where do continental glaciers form?
they form in colder climates, and occupy large land areas
49
where are the two continental glaciers located?
one is in greenland and the other in antartica
50
what is a cirque?
a bowl shaped basin
51
what is an arete?
they form where two adjacent valley glaciers meet and erode a long, sharp ridgeline
52
what is a horn in a mountainous region?
the sharpened peaks
53
what shape of valley do valley glaciers form?
u shaped valleys
54
what are tributary glaciers?
small glaciers that feed into large glaciers
55
what type of valleys do tributary glaciers form?
hanging valleys
56
which side of a sand dune does erosion occur?
on the windward side of a dune
57
which side of a sand dune does deposition occur?
on the leeward side
58
what is the deflation?
the removal of small particles by wind, leaving heavier particles behind
59
what is desert pavement?
the remaining surface of when small particles are removed
60
what factors do the shape and size of landforms depend on?
wind speed, amount of time the wind blows, and sediment supply
61
as wind speed is decreases, what is deposited?
sediment
62
what are three landforms that are shaped due to wave erosion?
coastal cliffs, sea stacks, and sea arches
63
what are two landforms created by wave deposition?
sand bars and sand spits
64
what are sandbars?
landforms that are parallel to the shorline
65
what are sand spits?
same thing as sand bars, but they curve back to the land
66
what can cause mass wasting?
snow, heavy rains, earthquakes, or human activity
67
what are some mass wasting examples?
rock slides, mudflows, 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 poor space
aquifer
71
the percentage of a material's total volume that is pore space
porosity
72
the process of assigning an exact numeral 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
states that the laws of nature operate today as they have in the past
uniformitarianism
75
states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the youngest rocks will be at the top and the oldest rocks will be at the bottom
principle of superposition
76
gaps in the rock record during which either erosion occured, or deposition was absent
unconformities
77
the reamains or traces of organisms found in the geological rock record
fossils
78
what percentage of water on Earth is salt water?
97%
79
what percentage if water on Earth is freshwater?
3%
80
where is the majority of freshwater found?
in glaciers
81
where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found?
in lakes, rivers, and underground water
82
what is precipitation?
when water vapor in the air cools and condenses to form a liquid water or crystals. Ex: rain, snow, sleet, and hail
83
what is runoff?
water running off the land surface
84
what is infiltration?
the process by which water enters the Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface
85
what is transpiration?
when plants release water vapor into the atmospere 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. eventually, the water droplets are heavy enough to fall as precipitation
88
what is the water cycle?
when water on the land goes into the atmosphere, gets heated up and turned into water vapor, then returns to the land
89
what is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage?
a porous area where water easily passes through
90
what is a saturated zone for groundwater storage?
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 material is, 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?
eight states
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?
an impearable layer that confines water
98
how are water springs formed?
where the water table naturally meets the Earth's surface
99
what is an artesian well?
when an aquifer is sandwiched between aquitards
100
what is a cone of depression?
the direction that water flows down towards a well
101
the process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event
absolute dating
102
the process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time
relative dating
103
states that the laws of nature operate today as they have in the past
uniformitarianism
104
states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the youngest rock will be at the top and the oldest rocks will be at the bottom
principle of superposition
105
gaps in the rock record during which either erosion occured or deposition was absent
unconformity
106
the remains or traces of organisms found in the geological rock record
fossils
