Exam 6: Weathering, Soil, and Sedimentary Rocks

Explain why understanding the depositional environments of sedimentary rocks are sometimes economically important.

What is soil made of?

What are the major factors that control the rate of chemical weathering?

How does weathering differ from erosion?

Chemical weathering is most effective when conditions are warm and arid.

Clay particles are important to soil development because they allow water and gases to enter soil.

What are soil horizons? What are the designations of the soil horizons?

What are some ways in which fossils are useful?

Sedimentary layers in which grain size decreases from bottom to top are called graded beds.

Why do small particles weather more rapidly than large particles?

The two major types of sediments that may become sedimentary rocks are ____________________ and ____________________.

Briefly explain how coal forms.

Caliche is a layer of precipitated calcium carbonate in horizon B.

The rocks on the bottom of a pile of sedimentary rocks are ____________________ in age than the rocks above them.

What is a marine transgression? What are the sedimentary facies associated with a marine transgression?

Chemical sedimentary rocks generally have an interlocking grain texture called:

Sedimentary deposits formed by wind tend to be very ____________________ sorted.

What two sedimentary structures can be useful in determining ancient current directions?

Ancient current directions can be determined by:

How does graded bedding form?