1. Weathering: Processes of Change
chemical weathering
mechanical weathering
moving water
erosion
ice
deposition
waves
gravity
wind
glaciers
Acids
abrasion

2. How does weathering occur?
EQ:
How does weathering
occur?

3. Weathering Describe three ways abrasion occurs in nature.
List three things that cause chemical weathering of rocks.
Describe the similarity in the ways tree roots and ice mechanically weather rock.
Describe five (5) sources of chemical weathering.

4. The Processes of Change

5. Processes of Change (5)
Weathering and erosion wear down, deposition fills in Earth’s surface.
Weathering is the slow wearing away or breaking down of objects exposed to Earth’s atmosphere
Two kinds of weathering act on Earth’s surface
Mechanical weathering
Chemical weathering

6. Weathering
Weathering is the process by which rock materials are broken down by the action of physical or chemical processes.
Mechanical weathering is the breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by physical means. (ice, wind, water, gravity, plants, animals)
Chemical weathering is the process by which rocks break down as a result of chemical reactions. Water, weak acids, and air can cause chemical weathering.

7. Mechanical Weathering (4)
When objects are broken down into small pieces but their chemical makeup doesn’t change
Wind and moving water are two main causes of mechanical weathering
Repeated changes in temperature (freeze, melt, freeze, melt again)

8. Chemical Weathering (5)
Material of an object is changed
Produces underground caverns
Statue of Liberty needed repairs because of chemical weathering
Examples:
Rust (oxidation)
Acid rain precipitation

9. Erosion (5) The natural moving of material from one place to another
Erosion transports weathered rock material
Causes of Erosion:
Moving water
Gravity
Wind
Glaciers (moving rivers of ice)
Waves

10. Deposition (5)
Land torn down in one place is “deposited” in another place
Gravity can cause a landslide moving mud, rock and soil down a hill
Wind erosion can move sand and deposit it in another area
Glaciers (rivers of ice) scrape rocks off the land and moves them downhill

11. Glaciers will stop moving and even retreat and cut a steep U-shaped valley in the land

12. Erosion caused by mountain rivers form V-shaped valleys

13. Hurricanes create waves that erode beaches and cliffs

14. Breaking of waves on a beach can wear it away
Breaking of waves on a beach can wear it away. The larger the waves, the faster is the rate of erosion.

15. 6 Agents of Mechanical Weathering
1. Water – as rocks and pebbles roll along the bottom of flowing water, they bump and scrape against each other, causing these rocks to become rounded and smooth.
2. Wind – wind blows sand and silt against exposed rock eventually wearing away the rock’s surface.
3. Gravity – rocks grind against each other during a rock slide, creating smaller and smaller rock fragments. Anytime one rock hits another rock, abrasion takes place.

16. Abrasion
Abrasion – the grinding and wearing away of rock surfaces through mechanical action of other rock or sand pebbles.
The three ways that can cause abrasion are wind, water, and gravity.

17. The Causes of Abrasion

18. Frost Action
4. Ice – water seeps into cracks during warm weather. When the temperature drops, the water freezes and expands, causing the ice to push against the sides of the crack. This causes the crack in the rock to widen eventually braking the rock apart.

19. Ice Wedging

20. Plants and Animals
5. Some plants can easily break rocks. The roots grow through existing cracks in rocks. The growth causes the root to expand, forcing the crack to widen. The force can eventually split the rock apart.
6. Animals that live in the soil (moles, prairie dogs, insects, worms, gophers), cause a lot of weathering. By burrowing in the ground, these living creatures brake up soil and loosen rocks to be exposed to further weathering.

21. Weathering: Plants and Animals

22. Agents of Mechanical Weathering
The breaking down of rock through physical means

23. Flowing Water
As rocks and pebbles roll along the bottom of flowing water, they bump and scrape against each other, causing these rocks to become rounded and smooth.

24. WIND
wind blows sand and silt against exposed rock eventually wearing away the rock’s surface.

25. GRAVITY
Rocks grind against each other during a rock slide, creating smaller and smaller rock fragments. Anytime one rock hits another rock, abrasion takes place.

26. ICE
Water seeps into cracks during warm weather. When the temperature drops, the water freezes and expands, causing the ice to push against the sides of the crack. This causes the crack in the rock to widen.

27. Animals
Animals that live in the soil (moles, prairie dogs, insects, worms, gophers), cause a lot of weathering. By burrowing in the ground, these living creatures break up soil and loosen rocks to be exposed to further weathering

28. PLANTS
The roots grow through existing cracks in rocks. The growth causes the root to expand, forcing the crack to widen. The force can eventually split the rock apart.

29. 3 Agents of Chemical Weathering
These (3) agents weaken the bonds between minerals grains of the rock.

30. 3 Agents of Chemical Weathering
1. Water – can cause rock to be broken down and dissolve. Can take thousands of years to take place.
2. Air – the process of oxidation is a chemical reaction in which an element (iron) combines with oxygen, causing rust.
3. Weak Acids – Includes:
acids in precipitation
acids in Groundwater
acids in living things

31. Weak Acids Acids in Living Things
Lichens, which consist Acids in Precipitation
of fungi and algae, living Rain, sleet, or snow
together, contribute that contains more
chemical weathering acid than normal
Acids in Groundwater
(forming a karst feature,
known as a cavern)

32. Three Sources of Weak Acids
Acid Precipitation – rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acid. Normal precipitation is acidic, acid precipitation contains more acid than normal.
Acids in Groundwater – carbonic acid or sulfuric acid reacts with rocks in the ground, causing a chemical reaction, eating away at the rock.
Acids in Living Things – Lichens produce acids that slowly break down rock.

33. Agents of Chemical Weathering These agents weaken the bonds between mineral grains of the rock.

34. Water
Can cause rock to be broken down and dissolve. Can take thousands of years to take place.

35. AIR
The process of oxidation is a chemical reaction in which an element (for example iron) combines with oxygen, causing rust.

36. Acid Precipitation (weak acid)
Rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acid. Normal precipitation is acidic, acid precipitation contains more acid than normal.

37. Acids in Groundwater (weak acid)
Carbonic acid or sulfuric acid reacts with rocks in the ground, causing a chemical reaction, eating away at the rock. This is a karst landscape.

38. Acids in Living Things (weak acid)
Lichens produce acids that slowly break down rock by chemical means.

39. Summary
Wind, water, and gravity cause mechanical weathering by abrasion.
Ice wedging is a form of mechanical weathering in which water seeps into rock cracks and then freezes and expands.
Animals and plants cause mechanical weathering by turning the soil and breaking apart rocks.
Water, acids, and air chemically weather rock by weakening the bonds between mineral grains of the rock.

40. Quick Check
Which of the following things cannot cause mechanical weathering?
A. water
B. acids
C. wind
D. animals

41. Quick Check Which of the following is a type of frost action?
A. abrasion
B. oxidation
C. ice wedging
D. gravity

42. Quick Check
Which of the following types of chemical weathering causes a karst landscape, such as a cavern?
A. lichens
B. acid precipitation
C. acids in groundwater
D. water

43. Quick Check How do lichens slowly break down a rock? A. by abrasion
B. by mechanical means
C. by ice wedging
D. by chemical means

44. Quick Check
Which of the following will most likely experience oxidation?
A. tennis ball
B. aluminum can
C. wooden fence
D. Bicycle tire

45. Quick Check
The grinding and wearing away of rock surfaces through the mechanical action of other rock or sand particles
Rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids
The process by which rocks break down as a result of chemical reactions
The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by physical means
A chemical reaction in which an element, such as iron, combines with oxygen to form an oxide
The process by which rock materials are broken down by the action of physical or chemical processes
a. mechanical weathering
b. oxidation
c. weathering
d. acid precipitation
e. abrasion
f. chemical weathering

46. Rates of Weathering What is differential weathering?
How does surface area affect the rate of weathering?
How does climate affect the rate of weathering?
Why do mountaintops weather faster than rocks at sea level?

47. Differential Weathering
Differential weathering is a process by which softer, less weather resistant rocks wear away and leave harder, more weather resistant rocks behind.
Hard rocks weather more slowly than softer rocks.

48. Devils Tower
Devils Tower appears as it does today because of differential weathering. As surrounding rock was worn away, the hard rock of the tower was exposed.

49. The Shape of Rocks
Weathering takes place on the outer surface of rocks.
The more surface area exposed to weathering, the faster the rock will be worn down.
As the surface area increases, the rate of weathering also increases.
If a large rock is broken into smaller pieces, weathering of the rock happens much faster.
The rate of weathering increases because a smaller rock has more surface area to volume than a larger rock.
More of the smaller rock is exposed to the weathering process.

50. Total Surface Area to Volume

51. Weathering and Climate
The rate of chemical weathering is faster in warm, humid climates than cold, dry climates because of oxidation.
Oxidation happens when the temperature is higher and when water is present.
Water increases the rate of mechanical (physical) weathering (ice wedging).
Repeated changes in temperature (freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw) is a major factor in mechanical weathering.

52. Warm, Humid Climate vs. Dry Climate

53. Weathering and Elevation
Mountaintops weather faster than rocks at sea level because they are exposed to more wind, rain, and ice than rocks at sea level or lower elevations.
The increase in wind, rain, and ice increases the effects of mechanical and chemical weathering. This increase in elevation causes peaks of mountains to weather faster.
Gravity affects the rate of weathering:
Steepness
Rainwater
Removal of sediment exposes new rock to weathering
Abrasion
Increased surface area of mountain

54. Weathering and Elevation
The Ice, Rain, and Wind that these mountain peaks are exposed to cause them the weather at a fast rate.

55. Summary Hard rocks weather more slowly than softer rocks.
The more surface area of a rock that is exposed to weathering, the faster the rock will be worn down.
Chemical weathering occurs faster in warm, humid climates.
Weathering occurs faster at high elevations because of an increase in ice, rain, and wind.

56. Quick Check
What three factors determine the rate at which rock weathers?

57. Quick Check
The process by which softer, less weather resistant rocks wear away and leave harder, more weather-resistant rocks behind is called
A. mechanical weathering
B. chemical weathering
C. differential weathering
D. acid precipitation

58. Quick Check Weathering takes place at different rates
on the outer surface of rocks.
on all rocks equally.
inside the rocks.

59. Quick Check Because of a large rock’s volume, it will
weather unevenly.
weather relatively quickly.
not weather at all.
weather relatively slowly.

60. Quick Check
What is the average weather condition in an area over a long period of time called?
_______________

61. Quick Check
Chemical weathering such as oxidation occurs more quickly in a climate that is ___________ and ________________. 1. 2.

62. Quick Check Weathering occurs faster at high elevations because of
an increase in wind but not ice or rain.
an increase in ice and rain but not wind.
a decrease in wind, ice, and rain.
an increase in wind, ice, and rain.

63. From Bedrock to Soil What is soil formed from? What is bedrock
What is humus?
What are soil horizons?

64. The Source of Soil
Soil is a loose mixture of small mineral fragments, organic matter, water, and air that can support the growth of vegetation.
Bedrock is the layer of rock beneath soil.
Parent rock is the rock formation that is the source of soil.
Soil that is blown or washed away from its parent soil is called transported soil.
Wind, water, and movements of glaciers can transport or move soil from one place to another.

66. Soil Properties Soil is made from different-sized materials.
Soil texture is the soil quality based on the proportions of soil particles.
Soil texture can influence the ability of water movement through the soil.
Soil structure is the arrangement of soil particles.
Consistency describes a soil’s ability to be worked and broken up for farming.
Infiltration is the ability of water to move through soil.

67. Soil Properties
Some soils are rich in nutrients, some are poor in nutrients.
Soil fertility is the soil’s ability to hold nutrients and to supply nutrients to a plant.
Humus is the dark, organic material formed in soil from the decayed remains of plants and animals.

68. Soil Texture

69. Soil Horizons Soil horizons are the horizontal layers of soil.
The top layer of soil is called topsoil, containing more humus than the other layers of soil, rich in nutrients plants need to be healthy.
Good topsoil is necessary for farming.

70. Leaching

71. Soil pH Soils can be acidic or basic.
The pH scale, ranging from 0 to 14, is used to measure the acidity of a substance.
7 is neutral; below 7 is acidic; above 7 is basic.
Different plants need different types of soil.
The right pH for a soil depends on the plants growing in it.

72. Soil pH Scale

73. Summary Soil (loam) is formed from the weathering of bedrock.
Soil texture affects how soil can be worked for farming and how well water passes through it.
The ability of soil to provide nutrients so that plants can survive and grow is called soil fertility.
The pH of a soil influences which nutrients plants can take up from the soil.
Different climates have different types of soil, depending on the temperature and rainfall.

74. Quick Check a. soil b. transported soil c. parent rock d. bedrock
1.Soil that is blown or washed away from its parent rock
2. The layer of rock beneath the soil
3. A rock formation that is the source of mineral fragments in the soil
4. A loose mixture of mineral fragments, organic material, water, and air that can support vegetation
a. soil
b. transported soil
c. parent rock
d. bedrock

75. Quick Check Soil quality based on the proportions of soil particles
The arrangement of soil particles
Ability of water to move through soil
Soil’s ability to be broken up for farming
a. soil structure b. infiltration c. consistency d. soil texture

76. Quick Check
What is soil’s ability to hold nutrients and to supply nutrients to a plant?
Soil structure
Soil texture
Soil horizons
Soil fertility

77. Quick Check
What do we call the removal of substances from soil due to water passing through it?
Wedging
Infiltration
Erosion
leaching

78. Quick Check
What is the layer of soil that often contains the most humus?
Horizon
Parent rock
Topsoil
bedrock

79. Quick Check What is soil that has a pH below 7 called? Neutral Acidic
Basic
midpoint

80. Quick Check What is the correct pH for growing plants? 7 Above 7
Below 7
It depends upon the plant

81. EQ: How can we conserve our soil?
Soil Conservation
EQ: How can we conserve our soil?

82. The Importance of Soil
Soil provides minerals and other nutrients to plants.
Without nutrients, plants cannot grow.
All animals get their energy from eating plants or eating animals that eat plants.
If plants do not get their nutrients from the soil, animals cannot get their nutrients from the plants

83. Why is soil important?

84. Housing and Water Storage
Soil provides a place for animals to live.
The area where plants and animals live is called a habitat.
If the soil disappears, then so does the habitat.
Soil stores water for plants.
Without soil to hold water, plants cannot get the moisture of nutrients they need to survive.

85. Soil Damage and Loss Soil loss is a serious problem around the world.
Soil damage and loss can come from overuse or poor farming techniques.
Plants cannot grow in soil that is infertile.
Without plants to hold soil in place the area can become a desert
Desertification and land degradation

86. Providence Canyon in Georgia, has suffered soil erosion from the cutting of forests for farmland.

87. Soil Erosion Without plants, soil can be blown or wash away.
If soil is left unprotected, it can be exposed to erosion
Erosion is the process in which water, wind, or gravity transports soil or sediment from one location to another.
By taking care of vegetation, you also take care of the soil.

88. Soil Conservation Techniques
Contour Farming – to prevent erosion on a hill, the rows of plants act as a series of dams instead of a series of rivers.
Terracing – on a steep hill, terracing changes the a steep hill into a series of smaller, flatter fields.
No-till Farming – the practice of leaving old stalks, providing cover from rain.
Cover Crops – crops that are planted between harvests to replace certain nutrients and prevent erosion.

89. Soil Conservation Techniques

90. Summary
Soil is important for plants to grow, for animals to live in, and for water to be stored.
Soil erosion and soil damage can be prevented by no-till farming, contour plowing, terracing, using cover crop, and practicing crop rotation.

91. Quick Check
In your own words, what is the definition of soil conservation?

92. Answer
Soil conservation is a method used to protect soil from erosion and nutrient depletion.

93. Quick Check
In your own words, what is a definition for erosion?

94. Answer
Erosion is a process by which soil is moved or transported from one location to another location by wind, water, or gravity.

95. Quick Check
Practicing which of the following soil conservation techniques will replace nutrients in the soil?
Cover crop use
No-till farming
Terracing
Countour plowing

96. Quick Check
What are three (3) important benefits that soil provides?

97. Answer Soil importance: provides minerals and nutrients to plants,
provides housing for animals,
stores water.
solid surface to walk upon

98. Quick Check
List five (5) methods of soil conservation, and describe how each helps prevent the loss of soil.

99. Answer
Crop rotation – slows down nutrient depletion, because different crops use different nutrients
Contour Plowing – plowed rows across a slope act as a series of dams to prevent erosion
Terracing – prevents erosion by diving a hillside into a series of flat fields
No-till Farming – prevents erosion from water runoff by leaving cover over the soil
Cover Crops – prevents erosion from water runoff by providing cover for the soil