Lecture 6: Weathering and Soil

Question 1

2 types of weathering

Answer 1

Physical (disintegration) and chemical (decomposition)

Question 2

Mass wasting

Answer 2

Transport of rock and soil downslope (landslides)

Question 3

What properties affect the rate of weathering?

Answer 3

The parent rock, climate and soil presence

Question 4

Frost weathering

Answer 4

Expansion of water in spaces, that forces rocks apart

Question 5

Haloclasty

Answer 5

Growth of salt crystals

Question 6

Expansion and decreased pressure can lead to…

Answer 6

Rock fractures

Question 7

What happens when clays are wet vs dry?

Answer 7

When the clay is wet it swells and shrinks when dry

Question 8

3 different mechanisms for chemical weathering

Answer 8

Dissolution, oxidation and hydrolysis

Question 9

Karst formation

Answer 9

Dissolving of bedrock, which produces caves and sinkholes

Question 9

What is soil composed of?

Answer 9

Bedrock, clay and organic matter

Question 10

5 layers of soil

Answer 10

O, A, E, B, C

Question 11

Soil types

Answer 11

Pedalfers, Pedocals and Laterites