Physical and Chemical Weathering
E.SE.06.11 - Explain how physical and chemical weathering lead to erosion and the formation of soils and sediments.
Weathering: The process that breaks down rocks and other substances at Earth’s surface.
Erosion: The movement of rock particles by wind, water, ice, or gravity.
Mechanical Weathering: The type of weathering in which rock is physically broken down into smaller pieces by a force of nature.
Mechanical weathering breaks rock into pieces by freezing and thawing (potholes), release of pressure (like an onion), growth of plants (roots on trees), actions of animals (gopher), and abrasion (smooth rocks on beach).
Abrasion: The grinding away of rock by rock particles carried by water, ice, wind, or gravity.
Example: smooth rock on a beach.
Ice Wedging: When wedges of ice in rocks widen and deepen causing cracks in rocks.
Chemical Weathering: The process that breaks down rock through chemical changes.
The agents of chemical weathering include water (think about the antacid tablet), oxygen (rust), carbon dioxide(limestone statues caused by acidic rain), living organisms(lichens in roots), and acid rain (more rapid than CO2).
The most important factors that determine the rate at which weathering occurs are type of rock and climate.
Permeable: Means that a material is full of tiny holes that let water seep through it.
Erosion: The movement of rock particles by wind, water, ice, or gravity.
Mechanical Weathering: The type of weathering in which rock is physically broken down into smaller pieces by a force of nature.
Mechanical weathering breaks rock into pieces by freezing and thawing (potholes), release of pressure (like an onion), growth of plants (roots on trees), actions of animals (gopher), and abrasion (smooth rocks on beach).
Abrasion: The grinding away of rock by rock particles carried by water, ice, wind, or gravity.
Example: smooth rock on a beach.
Ice Wedging: When wedges of ice in rocks widen and deepen causing cracks in rocks.
Chemical Weathering: The process that breaks down rock through chemical changes.
The agents of chemical weathering include water (think about the antacid tablet), oxygen (rust), carbon dioxide(limestone statues caused by acidic rain), living organisms(lichens in roots), and acid rain (more rapid than CO2).
The most important factors that determine the rate at which weathering occurs are type of rock and climate.
Permeable: Means that a material is full of tiny holes that let water seep through it.