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. Breaking down of bedrock2. Dead plants and animals being 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 – water currents can break down rock; waves could hit things; frost wedging; water can dissolve rocksChemical – water can dissolve acids; acid rain

(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 in rock cracks, freezes, and expands

Oxidation: When iron combines with oxygen in the presence of water, it forms rust

Abrasion: Wearing away of rock by other rock particles carried by wind, water, gravity, and ice

Acid rain: Pollution in the air makes its way into clouds or raindrops and falls onto rocks

Carbonic acid: When carbon dioxide in water it forms carbonic acid, which breaks down rocks

Weak acids from plants: Plant roots let out weak acids that slowly dissolve rocks

Animal action: Animals dig into soil, breaking apart bedrock and other rocks

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

Oxidation – it appears “rusty”; oxygen and iron mix in the presence of water to form rust

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

Frost wedging (freezing and thawing) – crack is wide and dramatic; snow and ice in the backgroundFreezing and thawing – when water gets in rock cracks and freezes and expands

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

Acid rain – splotches on the statue are where raindrops fellAcid rain forms when pollution in the air makes its way into rain drops

(11) Will permeable rock weather faster or slower than non-permeable rock? EXPLAIN.Permeable – it has holes or air spaces (more surface area)A permeable rock will weather faster because it has more surface area and holes for liquids to enter

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

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

(14) What are the five agents of erosion?Mass movement (gravity), wave, wind, water, glacier

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

(16) What is the difference between weathering and erosion?Weathering breaks down rock into smaller pieces, creating sediment. Erosion moves sediment.

(17) How does the cycle of weathering, erosion, and deposition change Earth’s topography?Weathering, erosion, and deposition break down and build up Earth’s surface. Weathering breaks rock down. Erosion moves sediment. Deposition settles sediment down in a new location.

(18) Give the name of the following land features AND explain how they were formed:a) b)

Delta – rivers flow into a large body of water and Tributary – small river flows into a big riverDeposit sediment

c) d) Made of clay

Glacial lake – glaciers melt and form lake loess – wind blows and deposits clay and Till – the left behind pieces of rock from a glacier moving sediment

*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, creep, slump, mudflowGlacier: glacial lake, moraine, horn, tillWind: loess and sand duneWater: gully, rills, delta, flood plain, waterfalls, stream, tributaryWave: beach, sand bar, headland

(19) (a) What was the experimental question this experiment was trying to answer?How does the size of rock affect the distance traveled?(b) What is the independent variable?The mass of the rocks(c) What is the dependent variable?The distance traveled(d) What are three controlled variables?The fan, the ruler, the amount of rocks, type of rock, flooring, wind speed, unit of measurement

(e) Write a C-E-R argument about the results of this experiment.The small rocks traveled farther than the big rocks. In the experiment, small rocks travel 1 m and large rocks travel 0.6 m. Small rocks traveled farther because it has less mass and so wind can carry it more easily.

(20) Definea) Independent variable: what the experimenter changes across conditionsb) Dependent variable: what the experimenter measuresc) Controlled variables: what stays the same across conditions

(21) Extending thinking: Does the cycle of weathering, erosion, and depositions happen quickly or over a long period of time?Long period of time, usually hundreds of years

(22) Explain the different horizons of soil and what you can find in each.A horizon – humus, clay, minerals, plant rootsB horizon – (subsoil) some humus, some clay, some minerals, plant rootsC horizon – NO humus, some rockBedrock – composed of dense rock

(23) Give an example AND explain what each does for the soil.a) Burrowers

b) Decomposers

c) Humus source

(24) Write a C-E-R argument about the results of the water erosion experiment you completed in class.