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Chapter 14: Weathering
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Section 1: Weathering Process
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Weathering: breaking down of rock @ Earth’s surface
Dania Beach, FL
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Mechanical Weathering
Physically broken into pieces, composition NOT changed Agents of M.W. – ice, plants & animals, gravity, running water, & wind Includes exfoliation – layers peel away, result of decompression
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Ice Wedging Water seeps into cracks & freezes, splitting rock further apart Areas – Northern US w/winters Makes potholes in roads
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Abrasion processes of scraping away material
Gravity, ice, running water, & wind
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Plant & Animal Activity
Roots of plants- grows into rock and creates wedges Burrowing Animals dig, create holes, Move soil & expose rock
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Blue Hole – Florida – dissolved limestone
Chemical Weathering Break down as a result of chemical reactions Changes into new substances Composition & appearance change Blue Hole – Florida – dissolved limestone
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Oxidation Combines with O2
Common w/iron minerals, red soil, Fe + 3O2 2Fe3O3 Surface of Mars
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Hydrolysis Leaching Many minerals react w/water
Water moves dissolved minerals down away from surface Leaching
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Florida limestone caverns & sinkholes
Carbonation CO2 dissolved in air forms carbonic acid, H2CO3 Minerals form carbonates Limestone’s calcite weathers easily Florida limestone caverns & sinkholes
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Organic Acids Formed by lichens & mosses
Weak acids breakdown surfaces, seep into cracks
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Acid Precipitation Use of fossil fuels makes it more acidic
Weathers rock faster Clean Air Act of reduced emissions
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End of Section 1 Review 1. Identify 3 agents of mechanical weathering 2. Describe how ice wedging weathers rock 3. Explain how 2 activities of plants or animals help weather rocks or soil 4. Compare mechanical and chemical weathering processes 5. Identify and describe 3 chemical processes 6. Compare hydrolysis, carbonation, and oxidation 7. Summarize how acid precipitation forms 8. Which 2 agents of weathering would be rare in a desert? Why? 9. An automobile exhaust contains nitrogen oxides. How might these pollutants affect chemical weather processes?
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