Weathering

Weathering is the chemical or physical breakdown of rocks

How does weathering break down rock materials?

How does soil form?

How does erosion affect earth’s surface?

What measures can be taken to protect soil as a resource?

What are some important features of rivers?

How do streams erode and deposit rock materials?

How do river valleys form?

How and why do river floods occur?

What factors affect the storage and movement of water in the ground?

What measures can be taken to conserve and protect groundwater supplies?

How does groundwater erode and deposit rock materials?

Use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations of weather patterns, seasonal changes, and the movements of Earth’s plates.

The natural agents of erosion include: Streams (running water): Gradient, discharge, and channel shape influence a stream’s velocity and the erosion and deposition of sediments. Sediments transported by streams tend to become rounded as a result of abrasion.

Patterns of deposition result from a loss of energy within the transporting system and are influenced by the size, shape, and density of the transported particles. Sediment deposits may be sorted or unsorted.

Weathering is the physical and chemical breakdown of rocks at or near Earth’s surface. Soils are the result of weathering and biological activity over long periods of time.

Natural agents of erosion, generally driven by gravity, remove, transport, and deposit weathered rock particles. Each agent of erosion produces distinctive changes in the material that it transports and creates characteristic surface features and landscapes.

Landforms are the result of the interaction of tectonic forces and the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition.

Identify and explain geographical features created by erosion and deposition