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Physical Science > Chapter 27 > Flashcards

Chapter 27 Flashcards

1
Q

Weathering

A

The process involving the physical or chemical breakdown of materials on Earth’s surface.

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2
Q

Soil

A

The mixture of weathered rock, organic matter, water, and air supporting plant life.

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3
Q

Erosion

A

The removal of surface material through the process of weathering.

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4
Q

Sediment Transport

A

When water, ice, wind, and gravity move eroded materials from one place to another.

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5
Q

Deposition

A

When the erosional agent slows or melts it drops the sediment in the process of deposition.

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6
Q

Drainage Basin

A

The land area that gathers water for a major river.

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7
Q

Longshore Current

A

The parallel movement of water to the shoreline.

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8
Q

Do rocks weather at the same rate?

A

No.

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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 three specific types of mechanical weathering?

A

Frost wedging, Biological Activity, and Collisions.

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14
Q

What causes Frost wedging?

A

Water collects in the cracks of a rock and freezes and the rock will break apart after a number of freeze thaw cycles?

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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

Rock slides or rocks sliding through turbulent rivers.

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18
Q

What is parent material?

A

What soil is made from.

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19
Q

What are the two types of chemical weathering cause by?

A

Oxygen and Water.

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20
Q

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

A

Oxidation.

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21
Q

What is the chemical process that is caused by water?

A

Hydrolysis.

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22
Q

What are soil horizons?

A

The different layers of soil.

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23
Q

How many soil horizons are there?

A

6 soil horizons

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24
Q

All soils contain every soil horizon. True or False.

A

False.

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25
Q

What are the specific soil horizons?

A

The: O, A, E, B, C, and R horizons.

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26
Q

What does the first soil contain?

A

Organic material.

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27
Q

What is the second horizon mostly made up of?

A

Mostly made up of minerals.

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28
Q

Which layer does leaching occur?

A

Horizon E.

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29
Q

Which horizon collects materials from previous horizons?

A

Horizon E.

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30
Q

Which layer is partially weathered bedrock?

A

Horizon C.

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31
Q

Which layer is unweathered bedrock?

A

Horizon R.

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32
Q

Which soil horizons make up the topsoil?

A

Horizons O and A

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33
Q

Which soil horizons make up the subsoil?

A

Horizons E and B.

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34
Q

Which soil horizons make up the true soil?

A

Horizons O, A, E, and B.

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35
Q

What is the difference between weathering and erosion?

A

Weathering is the breakdown of material and erosion is the removal of surface material.

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36
Q

As the slope of a river decreases the river’s speed _____?

A

Decreases as well.

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37
Q

As the slope of a river decreases the river’s speed _____?

A

Decreases as well.

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38
Q

Small streams flow into larger rivers are called ____?

A

Tributaries.

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39
Q

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

A

Drainage Basin

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40
Q

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

A

Drainage Divide.

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41
Q

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

A

Channels.

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42
Q

Young rivers are ____ due to the fast movement.

A

V-shaped

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43
Q

____ rivers are wide with smooth and gentle slope.

A

Mature.

44
Q

When rivers flood and drop their sediment load, what landform is created?

A

Flood plains.

44
Q

When rivers flood and drop their sediment load, what landform is created?

A

Flood plains.

45
Q

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

A

Deltas.

46
Q

What are distributaries?

A

The branching channels within deltas.

47
Q

What landform forms where the mouth of a river or stream enter dry land.

A

Alluvial Fans.

48
Q

What are the two types of glaciers?

A

Valley Glaciers & Continental Glaciers

49
Q

Where do valley glaciers form?

A

High mountainous regions.

50
Q

Where do continental glaciers form?

A

Ice sheets that occupy large land areas in colder climates

51
Q

Where are the two continental glaciers located?

A

Greenland and Antarctica

52
Q

What is a cirque?

A

A bowl shaped basin

53
Q

What is arete?

A

A long sharp ridge line between two tributary glaciers

54
Q

What is a horn in a mountainous region?

A

Sharpened peaks

Ex: Peak of a mountain

55
Q

What shape of valley do valley glaciers form?

A

U-shaped Valleys

56
Q

What are tributary glaciers?

A

Small glaciers that feed into large glaciers

57
Q

What type of valleys do tributary glaciers form?

A

Hanging valleys

58
Q

On which side of a sand dune does erosion occur?

A

The Winward Side.

59
Q

On which side of a sand dune does deposition occur?

A

The Leeward Side.

60
Q

What is deflation?

A

The removal of small particles by the wind, which leaves the heavier/bigger particles behind.

61
Q

What is desert pavement?

A

The removal of small particles where what is left is the desert pavement.

62
Q

What do the shapes and sizes of landforms depend upon due to wind?

A

They depend on wind speed, the amount of time the wind blows, and sediment supply.

63
Q

What are three landforms that are created due to wave erosion?

A

Coastal cliffs, sea arches, and sea stacks.

64
Q

What are two landforms that are created by wave deposition?

A

Sand bars and Sand spits.

65
Q

What is a sandbar?

A

A sandbar is a sand lanform that is parallel to the shoreline

66
Q

What is a sand spit?

A

A sandspit is a sandbar which extends out from the shoreline and back in.

67
Q

What causes mass wasting?

A

Snow, heavy rains, earthquakes, and human activity.

67
Q

What causes mass wasting?

A

Snow, heavy rains, earthquakes, and human activity.

68
Q

What are some examples of mass wasting?

A

Rock slides, mudflows, and landslides.

69
Q

Infiltration

A

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

70
Q

Water Table

A

The upper boundary of the saturated zone.

71
Q

Aquifer

A

A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space.

72
Q

Porosity

A

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

73
Q

Absolute Dating

A

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

74
Q

Relative Dating

A

The process in which objects or event are put in their proper order in time.

75
Q

Uniformitarianism

A

A principle that believes all laws are the same as they were in the past.

76
Q

Principle of Superposition

A

A principle that states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the oldest rocks are at the bottom and the youngest are at the top.

77
Q

Unconformity

A

Gaps in the rock record where erosion occured or deposition was absent.

78
Q

Fossil

A

The remains or traces of organisms found in the geological rock record.

79
Q

What percentage of water on Earth is saltwater?

A

97%

80
Q

What percentage of water on Earth is freshwater?

A

3%

81
Q

Where is the majority of freshwater found?

A

2% is found in glaciers.

82
Q

Where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found?

A

1% is found in lakes, rivers, and stored as groundwater.

83
Q

What is precipitation?

A

When water vapor cools and condenses.

Examples: rain, snow, sleet, & hail.

84
Q

What is runoff?

A

Where water runs off the land surface.

85
Q

What is infiltration?

A

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

86
Q

What is transpiration?

A

When plants release water vapor into the atmosphere through their leaves.

87
Q

What is evaporation?

A

When water enters the atmosphere as water vapor.

88
Q

What is condensation?

A

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

89
Q

What is the water cycle?

A

Where water starts on the land, gets heated up turning to water vapor, rises in the air, and falls back down to the ground.

90
Q

What is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage?

A

A porous area where water easily passes through.

91
Q

What is a saturated zone for groundwater storage?

A

Beneath the saturated zone, where water completely fills the pore space.

92
Q

What is a water table?

A

Thr upper boundary of saturated zone.

93
Q

What does it mean if sediment is permeable?

A

The more permeable, the more easily water can pass through it.

94
Q

What does it mean if sediment is non-permeable?

A

The less permeable, the less easily water can pass through it.

95
Q

What is an aquifer?

A

A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space.

96
Q

What is the name of the Great Plains Aquifer?

A

Ogalla Aquifer.

97
Q

How many states does the Great Plains Aquifer run through?

A

8 States.

98
Q

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

A

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

99
Q

What is an aquitard?

A

An impermeable layer that keeps water confined.

100
Q

How are water springs formed?

A

Where the water table meets the surface.

101
Q

What is an artesian well?

A

When we drill down into a pressurized aquifer and they form when an aquifer is sandwiched between aquitards. Pressure causes the water to spew out.

102
Q

What is a cone of depression?

A

The diresction of which the water flows down towards the well.

103
Q

Troposphere

A

A layer extending an average of 12 km above Earths surface.

104
Q

Temperature Inversion

A

Occurs when altitude and the air become stable.

105
Q

Greenhouse Effect

A

A natural process in which certain gases in the atmosphere warm a planet as they absorb and emit infrared radiation.

Physical Science (6 decks)

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