Weathering

Question 1

what does weathering mean?

Answer 1

break up - due to rain, changes of temperature in SITU, moved by weather

Question 2

what does erosion mean?

Answer 2

wearing away - due to an agent of erosion e.g. seas, river or glacier pick up a rock and carries it away (so less of the land is left behind)

Question 3

when does mechanical or physical weathering occur?

Answer 3

when the rock is bare and there’s nothing to protect it

no chemical change takes place e.g. freeze thaw and exfoliation

Question 4

when does chemical weathering occur?

Answer 4

when rocks react with water and the air
occurs most when the climate is very warm and wet and chemical changes in the rocks make them rot and decay e.g. solution and carbonation

Question 5

when does biological weathering occur?

Answer 5

plants and animals make this happen e.g. tree roots. This forces bits of rock to fall off - animals also can burrow into weak rocks, forcing them apart

Question 6

what is solution weathering?

Answer 6

some minerals (like rock salt) and some rocks simply dissolve in rain water