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Physical Science > Chptr 27 > Flashcards

Chptr 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

A 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

The process in which rocks weather, erosional agents like water, ice, wind, and gravity move eroded materials from one place to another.

A

sedimentary transport

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5
Q

A process in which the erosional agent slows down/melts and drops this sediment load.

A

deposition

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6
Q

What is the land area that gathers water for a major river?

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

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9
Q

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

A

rock type & landscape

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10
Q

What are the two types of weathering?

A

mechanical weathering & 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 three specific types of mechanical weathering?

A

frost wedging, biological activity, & collisions

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14
Q

What causes frost wedging?

A

occurs when water collects in the cracks of a rock and freezes, slowly wedging the rock open

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15
Q

What is the cycle called during frost wedging?

A

“Freeze-Thaw Cycles”

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16
Q

What causes biological activity?

A

plants (roots) & animals (burrows)

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17
Q

What causes weathering during collisions?

A

when rocks fall from a cliff or tumble through turbulent rivers

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18
Q

What is soil formed from?

A

parent material

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19
Q

What are the two types of chemical weathering caused by?

A

oxygen & 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 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

six

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24
Q

Do all soils contain every soil horizon?

A

no

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25
Q

What are the specific soil horizons?

A

O Horizon, A Horizon, E Horizon, B Horizon, C Horizon, & 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

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 precious 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 Horizon & A Horizon

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33
Q

Which soil horizons make up the subsoil?

A

E Horizon & B Horizon

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34
Q

Which soil horizons make up the true soil?

A

O Horizon, A Horizon, E Horizon, & Horizon

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35
Q

What is the difference between weathering and erosion?

A

weathering - breakdown of materials

erosion - removal of surface material

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36
Q

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

A

the 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 areas 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

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42
Q

___ rivers are wide with smooth and gentle slopes.

A

Mature

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43
Q

When rivers flood and drop their sediment load, what 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 the branching channels from deltas?

A

distributaries

46
Q

What land form forms where the mouth of a river/stream enters dry land?

A

alluvial fans

47
Q

What are the two types of glaciers?

A

valley glaciers & continental glaciers

48
Q

Where do valley glaciers form?

A

high, mountainous regions

49
Q

Where do continental glaciers form?

A

cold climates & large land areas

50
Q

Where are the two continental glaciers located?

A

Greenland & Antarctica

51
Q

What is a bowl shaped basin called?

A

a cirque

52
Q

What do you call two adjacent valley glaciers meet & erode a long, sharp ridge?

A

an arete

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 a sand dune does erosion occur?

A

the windward side

58
Q

Which side of a sand dune does deposition occur?

A

the leeward side

59
Q

What is the removal of small particles by the wind, that leaves heavier particles behind?

A

deflation

60
Q

When small particles are removed, what is the remaining surface called?

A

desert pavement

61
Q

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

A

wind speed, amount of time the wind blows, & sediment supply

62
Q

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

A

coastal cliffs, sea arches, & sea stacks

63
Q

What are two landforms that are created by wave deposion?

A

sand bars & sand spits

64
Q

What is a landform that is parallel to the shoreline?

A

a sand bar

65
Q

What is the name of a sandbar that curves back toward land like a hook?

A

a sand spit

66
Q

What can cause mass wasting?

A

snow, heavy rains, earthquakes, or human activity

67
Q

What are some examples of mass wasting?

A

rock slides, mudflows, landslides

68
Q

What states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, where the youngest rocks will be at the top and the oldest rocks will be at the bottom?

A

principle of superposition

69
Q

What is the process of placing objects/events in their proper order in time called?

A

relative dating

70
Q

What is the process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event called?

A

absolute dating

71
Q

What is a rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space called?

A

aquifer

72
Q

What is the percentage of a material’s total volume that is pore space called?

A

porosity

73
Q

What are the gaps in the rock record during which either erosion occurred or deposition was absent called?

A

unconformity

74
Q

What is the upper boundary of the saturated zone called?

A

water table

75
Q

What are the remains/traces of organisms found in the geological rock record called?

A

fossil

76
Q

What is the process by which water enters Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface?

A

infiltration

77
Q

What states that the laws of nature operate today as they would have in the past?

A

uniformitarianism

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 (2%)

81
Q

Where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found?

A

lakes, rivers, & stored groundwater (1%)

82
Q

What is precipitation?

A

water vapor cools & condenses (rain, snow, sleet, hail)

83
Q

What is runoff?

A

water running off the land surface

84
Q

What is infiltration?

A

the process of water becoming groundwater

85
Q

What is transpiration?

A

plants releasing water vapor through their leaves

86
Q

What is evaporation?

A

water entering the air as water vapor

87
Q

What is condensation?

A

water vapor colliding, becoming water droplets

88
Q

What is the water cycle?

A

water on the land goes into the atmosphere before eventually returning to the land

89
Q

What is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage?

A

a porous area where water easily passes through

90
Q

What is a saturated zone for groundwater storage?

A

where water completely fills the pore space

91
Q

What is a water table?

A

the boundary between the saturated & unsaturated zones

92
Q

What does it mean if sediment is permeable?

A

the more permeable a material is, the easier water can pass through it

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

eight

96
Q

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

A

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

97
Q

What is an aquitard?

A

an inpremeable that holds confined water

98
Q

How are water springs formed?

A

the water table naturally meeting the Earth’s surface

99
Q

What is an artesian well?

A

wells drilled into pressurized aquifers

100
Q

What is a cone of depression?

A

the direction that the water flows towards the well

101
Q

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

A

absolute dating

102
Q

What is the process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time?

A

relative dating

103
Q

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

A

uniformitarianism

104
Q

What states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the youngest rocks will be at the top and the oldest at the bottom?

A

the principle of superposition

105
Q

What are the gaps in the rock record during which either erosion occurred or deposition was absent?

A

uncomformity

106
Q

What are the remains or traces of organisms found in the geological rock record called?

A

fossils

Physical Science (6 decks)

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