Weathering Vocabulary and Notes

Landforms-a natural feature on Earth's surface such as mountains, hills, plateaus, plains, and valleys.: Weathering-a gradual wearing away or changing of rock and soil cause by water, ice, temperature changes, wind, chemicals or living things. Physical Weathering-when large rocks are broken into smaller pieces of the same kind of rock Chemical Weathering-when chemicals cause rocks to change into different materials.

Landforms: Natural features in the Earth’s crust Mountains Valleys Canyons Plains Some landforms take millions of years to form such as mountains, canyons, or valleys. Other landforms take shape quickly due to flooding, volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural events.

Weathering: Breaking apart of rock Physical Weathering: Only the SIZE of the rock changes. Physical weathering is caused by: Water-water in streams, rivers, oceans carry sand rocks, and soil. This scrapes rocks, breaking them into smaller pieces. Ice-water seeps into cracks in rocks and freezes when temperatures drop. The ice EXPANDS, making the crack in the rock EXPAND. Eventally, the crack will get so big that the rock will break. Temperature changes- When the rocks’ surface gets hotter, it expands, or grow larger. When it gets colder, the surface contracts, or gets smaller. This weakens the rock. Living things- plants can grow in cracks in rocks. As plants and roots get bigger, they can cause the rock to split.

Chemical Weathering: Chemicals cause rock to break into small pieces AND the material that makes up the rock changes. Chemical weathering can be caused by: Water-when water mixes with some rocks, it causes them to change. Example: When water mixes with Feldspar, the Feldspar changes to clay. Oxygen- Some rocks change because of oxygen. Example: If a rock contains iron, the iron will change to iron oxide or RUST. Carbon dioxide and water-When water mixes with carbon dioxide, it forms a weak acid. Example: This type of weathering forms caves!