Name: Date: Number:Study Guide: Earth’s Surface Processes

For questions (1), (2), and (3), write the layer of soil that matches the description.

(1) Humus This layer is composed entirely of recycled organic material.

(2) B horizon This is the last layer that you would possibly find plant roots.

(3) Bedrock This is the layer that breaks down to form soil.

(4) List two different ways soil can form.1. Rock or bedrock can weather down2. Dead animals and plants are recycled by decomposers

(5) Order from biggest to smallest: sand, clay, silt, gravel.Gravel, sand, silt, clay

(6) How can water be involved in mechanical weathering? How can water be involved in chemical weathering?Mechanical: dissolve rocks; waves and currents can crash and break rocks, freezing and thawing/frost wedging; abrasion when it carries rock that hits other rockChemical: oxidation (water + oxygen + iron = rust); acid rain; carbon dioxide + water = carbonic acid; water can dissolve some acids

(7) Circle the examples of chemical weathering: frost wedging, oxidation, water dissolving chemicals, water dissolving rock, abrasion, acid rain, weak acids from plants, animal action, plants breaking apart rocks with roots, carbonic acid

Give definitions of each:Frost wedging: When water gets inside of a rock and freezes and expands, causing cracks

Oxidation: when oxygen and iron mix in the presence of water, causing rust (orange-ish red)

Abrasion: When rock particles (carried by wind, water, ice, or gravity) weather other rock particles

Acid rain: pollution in the air mixes with clouds or rain drops and makes acid rain

Carbonic acid: carbon dioxide mixes with water, forming carbonic acid

Weak acids from plants: Plant roots create and release weak acids, which break down rocks

Animal action: Animals dig and break rocks in the process (burrowers)

(8) Which agent of chemical weathering most likely resulted in the following rock? EXPLAIN.

Oxidation – it looks like it has some rust; rust is formed from water + oxygen + iron

(9) Which agent of mechanical weathering most likely resulted in the following rock? EXPLAIN.

Frost wedging (freezing and thawing) – when water gets into the rock and it freezes and expands and cracks the rock; the cracks are open and dramatic and there is ice and snow around

(10) Which agent of chemical weathering most likely resulted in the following statue? EXPLAIN.

Acid rain – the dots are from raindrops fallingPollution in the air gets into the raindrops and falls with rain

(11) Will permeable rock weather faster or slower than non-permeable rock? EXPLAIN.Faster because liquids (water, acids) can get into the rock and break it down faster

(12) If mechanical weathering breaks a rock into pieces, how would this affect the rate at which the rock weathers chemically?It will go faster because it is already broken down and has more surface area

(13) List the four factors that affect the rate of weathering.Surface area, type of rock, climate, type of weathering

(14) What are the five agents of erosion?Water, mass movement/gravity, glacier, wind, wave

(15) Which agent of erosion has impacted Earth’s surface the most?water

(16) What is the difference between weathering and erosion?Weathering – breaking down rocks (forming sediment)Erosion – movement of broken down rocks (sediment)

(17) How does the cycle of weathering, erosion, and deposition change Earth’s topography?They act together in a cycle the breaks down and builds up Earth’s surface. Weathering breaks down rocks. Erosion moves broken down rocks. Deposition deposits sediment.

(18) Give the name of the following land features AND explain how they were formed:a) b) Tributary – a little river goes into a larger river

Rills – the path runoff takesDelta – rivers lead out to a larger body of water and deposit sediment

c) d) Made of clay

Till – path of rock that a glacier leaves behind Loess – when clay and silt come together due to wind erosion

*NOTE: Look over all features from your homework text search packet!!! Any of those features could appear on the test. You need to be able to identify them AND explain how they were formed.

(19) List the different landforms that could result from the following agents of erosion:Mass movement: landslide, mudslide, creep, slum

Glacier: moraine, till, glacial lake, horn

Wind: loess, sand dune

Water: rills, gullies, stream, delta, tributary, flood plain, waterfall

Wave: beach, sandbar, headland

(19) (a) What was the experimental question this experiment was trying to answer?How does mass of the rocks affect the distance traveled?(b) What is the independent variable?Size/mass of the rock(c) What is the dependent variable?Distance traveled (d) What are three controlled variables?Type of rock, measuring tool, fan, fan speed, amount of rocks, where the rocks start

(e) Write a C-E-R argument about the results of this experiment.The smaller rocks were blown further than the larger rocks. In the experiment, the small rocks moved 1 m and the large rocks went 0.6 m. Smaller rocks were blown further because they are lighter and therefore can be pushed farther.

(20) Definea) Independent variable: What the experimenter changes in each condition.

b) Dependent variable: What the experimenter measures

c) Controlled variables: What stays the same across conditions

(21) Extending thinking: Does the cycle of weathering, erosion, and deposition happen quickly or over a long period of time?A long time. The whole cycle takes a long time, sometimes even hundreds of years.

(22) Explain the different horizons of soil and what you can find in each.Horizon A – humus, clay, mineralsHorizon B – some humus, some clay, some rock and mineralsHorizon C – no humus, some rocks from bedrockBedrock – solid rock

(23) Give an example AND explain what each does for the soil.a) BurrowersBreak rocks as they dig; example: moleb) DecomposersBreak down dead plants and animals to be food for other plans; example: earthworm, bacteria, mushroomsc) Humus sourcecomposed of dead plants and animals; it makes the soil more fertile and gives the nutrients for plants to grown

(24) Write a C-E-R argument about the results of the water erosion experiment you completed in class.______ condition prevented water runoff the most. In the experiment…. _______ condition prevented water runoff the most because…