Deck 15: Weathering and Mass Wasting

Question 1

Limestone is most intensely weathered in arid environments. ​

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In their downslope portions, slumps often change into earthflows. ​

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Biological weathering includes processes that are fundamentally physical or chemical in nature. ​

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Because of the dominance of physical weathering, which is comparatively slow, slopes in arid environments tend to be bare and angular. ​

Question 5

The expansion cracks that form during unloading are best described as faults. ​

Question 6

Compared with conditions deeper within the Earth, temperature and pressure are lower at the surface. ​

Question 7

Water never plays a role in mass wasting events. ​

Question 8

Which of the following is considered a form of physical weathering? ​

A)oxidation
B)hydrolysis
C)carbonation
D)solution
E)hydration

Question 9

Rock that is more resistant to weathering tends to form cliffs or ridges. ​

Question 10

Exfoliation is the physical weathering process that causes unloading. ​

Question 11

Levees most commonly form in association with _____. ​

A)soil creep and solifluction
B)debris flows and mudflows
C)rockfalls and unloading
D)slumps and landslides
E)rockslides and rockfalls

Question 12

In general, the more joints and bedding planes rock has, the more resistant it is to weathering. ​

Question 13

It is possible for a single region to have joints oriented in more than one direction. ​

Question 14

Freeze-thaw weathering requires _____. ​

A)saltwater
B)a tropical climate
C)cracks into which water can seep
D)silicate minerals
E)igneous rock

Question 15

When water freezes, it can expand up to 50%. ​

Question 16

Broken fragments of rock that separate from the original rock mass are called _____. ​

A)geomorphic agents
B)hydrolysis
C)soliflucts
D)clasts
E)exogenic

Question 17

Alternating wetting and drying can facilitate soil creep. ​

Question 18

A single rock rolling and tumbling downhill is too small to be considered mass wasting. ​

Question 19

Which of these types of mass wasting is considered to be slow? ​

A)solifluction
B)slump
C)earthflow
D)mudslide
E)avalanche

Question 20

The angle of repose for a talus slope commonly lies between 60° and 65°. ​

Question 21

A large, rapid mass wasting event that is difficult to classify is often called a(n)_____. ​

A)ground tsunami
B)landwave
C)landslide
D)landflow
E)earthslide

Question 22

Which of these types of mass wasting typically involves the most water? ​

A)soil creep
B)rock slide
C)rockfall
D)mudflow
E)debris slide

Question 23

Rust is an example of _____. ​

A)hydration
B)unloading
C)freeze-thaw
D)salt crystal growth
E)oxidation

Question 24

The presence of talus is a good sign that _____ is occurring. ​

A)solifluction
B)slump
C)rockfall
D)creep
E)flow

Question 25

A mass of sediment composed of a widerange of grain sizes, at least 20% of which is gravel-sized,is called _____. ​

A)rock
B)mud
C)talus
D)debris
E)soil

Question 26

Differential weathering is controlled by _____. ​

A)the angle of repose for different particle sizes
B)variations in oxygen availability
C)differences in rainwater chemistry
D)variation in climate
E)differences in rock type

Question 27

Which weathering process transforms some silicate minerals into clay minerals? ​

A)oxidation
B)solution
C)hydrolysis
D)hydration
E)freeze-thaw

Question 28

Fast mass wasting events involving cohesive or semicohesive units of Earth materials are called _____. ​

A)solifluction
B)falls
C)slides
D)flows
E)avalanches

Question 29

Carbonation most commonly impacts ____.

A)quartzite
B)shale
C)limestone
D)granite
E)basalt

Question 30

Slumps are _____. ​

A)rotational slides where earth moves along a concave, curved surface
B)free falls of mud
C)linear flows of ice and snow
D)slow creep of rock
E)small avalanches of debris

Question 31

Granular disintegration of coarse crystalline rocks occurs primarily as the result of ____. ​

A)thermal expansion and contraction
B)unloading
C)oxidation
D)carbonation
E)biological weathering

Question 32

Spheroidal weathering refers to ____.

A)tiny broken pieces of rock
B)rounded rockshaped by weathering along joints
C)rounded holes or caves left in sandstone cliffs due to hydration
D)rounded rocks split into two halves by thermal expansion and contraction weathering
E)weathering by round salt crystals

Question 33

Mudflows of volcanic ash are referred to as _____. ​

A)talus
B)avalanches
C)heavings
D)solifluctions
E)lahars

Question 34

Avalanches _____. ​

A)deposit raised rims, called levees
B)are a type of slow mass wasting
C)move along a curved slip plane
D)move as a cohesive unit
E)can consist of debris

Question 35

Heaving is commonly accomplished by _____. ​

A)oxidation
B)carbonation
C)alternating freezing and thawing
D)rockfall
E)talus

Question 36

Salt crystal growth causes weathering because ____. ​

A)chemical reactions with salt weaken some minerals
B)organisms readily grow on salt crystals
C)salt oxidizes readily
D)salt expands when it freezes
E)growing salt crystals can wedge apart cracks

Question 37

Hydration weathering involves the _____. ​

A)formation of new minerals
B)freezing and thawing of water
C)expanding and shrinking of minerals
D)dissolving of silicates
E)breaking off of concentric sheets of rock

Question 38

Weathering by unloading _____. ​

A)results from alternating freezing and thawing of water
B)results from salt crystal growth
C)mostly affects limestone
D)can result in formation of exfoliation domes
E)most commonly affects sandstone

Question 39

Solifluction is _____. ​

A)the fast fall of soil
B)a process that occurs mainly in areas of permafrost
C)the slow flow of rock
D)a physical weathering process
E)most common in deserts

Question 40

Weathering by salt crystal growth is most effective in _____. ​

A)arid regions and rocky coastal locations
B)tropical rainforests
C)steppe climates
D)tundra climates
E)ice sheet climates

Question 41

Above the permafrost layer, the _______________ layer freezes during winter but thaws during summer. ​

Question 42

The steepest natural angle that loose material can stand at without pieces sliding or rolling downslope is called the _______________. (three words)​

Question 43

How do weathering and the effects of weathering differ in humid versus arid climates? ​

Question 44

How are slides and flows different? ​

Question 45

The weathering process of _______________ is a type of solution that involves carbon dioxide and water molecules reacting with rock, particularly limestone. ​

Question 46

Describe the heaving process that results in soil creep. ​

Question 47

Two or more parallel joints in the same area are referred to as a(n)_______________.(two words)​

Question 48

The primary factor that causes mass wasting is _______________. ​

Question 49

Water molecules attach to the crystalline structure of a mineral without causing a permanent change in that mineral's composition in the process of _______________. ​

Question 50

In the weathering process of _______________, a chemical reaction causes mineral-forming ions to dissociate and the separated ions are carried away in the water. ​

Question 51

The free fall of rock through air is called _______________. ​

Question 52

Oxidation is the chemical union of _______________ atoms with another substance. ​

Question 53

Freeze thaw weathering is an example of _______________ weathering. ​

Question 54

Angular, broken clasts that pile up at the base of a cliff subject to rockfall are referred to as _______________. ​

Question 55

What are some factors that determine where or when a fast mass wasting event could occur? ​

Question 56

Hydrolysis is a form of _______________ weathering. ​

Question 57

The various processes by which rocks at or near Earth's surface are disintegrated or decomposed are collectively known as _______________. ​

Question 58

The slow migration of particles along the slope to successively lower elevations as the result of some kind of heaving process is called _______________. ​

Question 59

Why can biological weathering be categorized as both physical and chemical weathering? ​

Question 60

Granite exfoliation domes are produced by the weathering process of _______________. ​