By: Caitlin McGlynn, David Wilker, and Courtney O’Brien

Weathering - Process which acts at the earth's surface to decompose and breakdown rocks

Erosion - The physical movement of weathered rock from its original site Primary agents are gravity, wind, water…

Mechanical or Physical - the breakdown of rock material into smaller pieces without changing the chemical composition

Chemical - the breakdown of rocks by chemical agents

Biological- when plant or animal life causes the breakdown of the rock

Expansion and Contraction - the thermal heating and cooling of rocks

Frost Action - Water freezes at night and expands because the solid occupies greater volume. Action wedges the rocks apart.

Exfoliation - process in which curved plates of rock are stripped from a larger rock mass.

Other types - Cracking of rocks by plant roots and burrowing animals.

Rock Composition- Some rock types are more likely to resist weathering while others are more vulnerable to it

Rock Properties- Properties that make it easier for water to infiltrate a rock make it more vulnerable to weathering

Climate- Some weathering processes cannot occur in certain climate zones

Not all rocks weather at the same rate

Some rocks are harder than othersEx: Quartz is more

resistant to chemical and physical weathering

Results in cross-cutting

Deposition – when the sediment is deposited and left to settle

Lithification Compaction - Squeezing out of waterCementation - chemical cement is formedRecrystallization - Growth of crystal in the

sediment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyysL02ZvQ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyysL02ZvQ8

http://www.mrsciguy.com/weathering.htmlhttp://geology.csupomona.edu/drjessey/

class/Gsc101/Weathering.htmlhttp://www.reachoutmichigan.org/

funexperiments/quick/academy/weatherexp.html

“The Good Earth: Introduction to Earth Science” (pg 255-258)