WAVES + COASTS

Question 1

what is the coast?

Answer 1

the transition zone between land and sea

Question 2

what are 4 factors affecting the coast?

Answer 2

weather, human activity, land, sea

Question 3

what three factors affect the power of waves?

Answer 3

fetch, wind strength, wind duration

Question 4

what is fetch?

Answer 4

the distance of water over which the wind acts

Question 5

what is wind duration?

Answer 5

the length of time which the wind is acting on the surface of the water

Question 6

what is the wind strength?

Answer 6

the speed at which the wind is acting on the surface of the water

Question 7

What is the swash?

Answer 7

when water runs up the beach

Question 8

what is the backwash?

Answer 8

when the water runs out of energy and therefore runs straight down the beach again.

Question 9

what causes waves to crash?

Answer 9

the friction between the water and the sea bed.

Question 10

name three features of destructive waves…

Answer 10

short wavelength, stronger backwash than swash, causes sand and shingle to be pulled from shore.

Question 11

name three features of constructive waves…

Answer 11

long wavelength, stronger swash than backwash, causes deposition.

Question 12

what are the three categories of weathering?

Answer 12

biological, mechanical, chemical.

Question 13

Define burrowing animals (weathering):

Answer 13

They can weaken the cracks in rocks.

Question 14

Define shellfish (weathering):

Answer 14

Can drill into coastal rocks, weakening them.

Question 15

Define tree roots (weathering):

Answer 15

Can grown into cracks, expanding as the tree grows, weakening rocks.

Question 16

what is freeze thaw weathering:

Answer 16

liquid water enters cracks and expands as it freezes weakening rocks.

Question 17

What is salt crystallisation:

Answer 17

salt water runs into cracks and pores in rocks, then water evaporates leaving behind salt crystals which can weaken the rock.

Question 18

What is exfoliation?

Answer 18

rocks that are repeatedly exposed to very high and very low temperatures can ‘shed’ their outer layers

Question 19

What are the four types of mass movement?

Answer 19

landslide, rotational slumping, mudslide, rockfall

Question 20

What is mass movement?

Answer 20

The downhill movement of weathered material due to gravity/

Question 21

What is a landslide?

Answer 21

when blocks of rock slide downhill

Question 22

What is slumping?

Answer 22

the slump of saturated soil and weak rock along a curved surface.

Question 23

What is a mudslide?

Answer 23

When saturated soil and weak rock fall.

Question 24

What is rockfall?

Answer 24

When fragments of rock break away from a cliff face.

Question 25

What are the four types of erosion?

Answer 25

attrition, abrasion, hydraulic action, solution

Question 26

Define abrasion:

Answer 26

caused by waves picking up rocks and hurling them at cliff faces wearing them away

Question 27

Define hydraulic action:

Answer 27

as waves hit the cliff face they force pockets of air into cracks. the air becomes pressurised and weakens the rock.

Question 28

Define corrosion:

Answer 28

when rocks such as limestone are being dissolved by sea water

Question 29

Define attrition:

Answer 29

A process whereby material carried by the waves is rounded and made smaller as it collides with other material.

Question 30

What type of coastline do headlands and bays form on?

Answer 30

discordant

Question 31

Why do headlands and bays form?

Answer 31

Because of the bands of alternating hardness of rock.

Question 32

Where does beach material come from?

Answer 32

Rivers, erosion of cliffs.

Question 33

Where do landforms of deposition generally form?

Answer 33

In low energy areas

Question 34

Defin a storm breach:

Answer 34

a ridge of coarse material above high tide level thrown up by high energy storm waves.

Question 35

Define a cusp:

Answer 35

A semicircular depression in the beach face at the upper and lower boundary of the beach

Question 36

Define a berm:

Answer 36

A small set of ridges in the beach face caused by swash

Question 37

Define a ridge:

Answer 37

A mound of sand formed by destructive waves eroding material at the top of the beach and depositing it on the lower beach.

Question 38

Define a runnel:

Answer 38

Troughs between the ridges that contain water.

Question 39

Define eustatic change:

Answer 39

a change in sea level due to the change in volume of the sea (global issue)

Question 40

Define isostatic change:

Answer 40

sea level change due to the change in height of the land.

Question 41

What type of submerged valley is a ria?

Answer 41

a submerged river valley

Question 42

What type of submerged valley is a fjord?

Answer 42

a submerged racial valley