Exam 6: Weathering, Erosion, and Soil

Laterite soils can support extended periods of farming.

The chemical weathering process that produces most of the red,yellow,and brown colors seen in soils and many sedimentary rocks is called ____________________.

What three types of soil degradation are recognized?

The process that decomposes rocks and minerals by altering the makeup of the parent material is called _______ _______.

Because quartzite is (more/less)____________________ chemically stable than granite,it will be covered by a (thicker/thinner)____________________ layer of soil than will an adjacent body of granite.

Define weathering.

Weathering is an essential part of the _______ _______ because parent material must break down into smaller pieces or perhaps dissolve to become sediment.

The most important factor controlling soil formation is ____________________.

Explain why,and give two examples of how,climate is more effective in determining soil type than parent rock type.

____________________ erosion occurs when water carves small channels into a soil bed.

The actions of ____________________ and ____________________ are responsible for most soil erosion.

Laterite soils are typical of rainforests.

Three important chemical processes involved in chemical weathering are ____________________,____________________,and ____________________.

Under similar climatic conditions,soil will develop (faster/slower)____________________ on solid bedrock than it will on unconsolidated sediment.

Briefly explain the sequence in which a soil develops.

The most stable shape a stone can form is a rectangle.

Describe the human activities that produce acid rain.

A(n)____________________ soil forms where the parent material has weathered,whereas ____________________ soil develops from eroded material that was weathered at another location.

Sheet joints,created by pressure release,form roughly parallel to the rock surface.

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising due to the burning of fossil fuels.How might this increased level of carbon dioxide affect rates of weathering?