Question 1

If wind picks up sand particles and scours the lower portion of a rock, what specific type of physical weathering is this called? __________________________

Accepted Answer

Abrasion

Question 2

If a rock gets salt dissolved in water that are captured in fractures or joints and the water crystallizes to form salt gains in the joints, what type of specific chemical weathering has occurred to this rock?   ____________________

Accepted Answer

salt cracking

Question 3

The combined O and A soil horizons are also called ____________________.

Accepted Answer

topsoil

Question 4

If you see a block of material that has slid downhill as a consolidated unit over a gently curved fracture, you have observed what specific type of mass wasting? __________________________

Accepted Answer

The answer of If you see a block of material...

Question 5

If leaching occurs from the uppermost soil horizons of dissolved ions and clays, which specific soil horizon will the materials leach into? _____________________

Accepted Answer

The answer of If leaching occurs from the uppermost soil...

Question 6

If you see a road that has fractured due to rapid changes in temperature, what specific type of physical weathering have you observed? _____________________

Accepted Answer

The rapid changes in temperature cause the road to expand and contract quickly, leading to thermal expansion and contraction which results in fracturing.

Question 7

If you wanted a balanced soil for your yard that has equal parts of sand, silt, and clay, you would find a piece of land rich in what type of soil? _____________

Accepted Answer

Loam soil is a mixture of sand, silt, and clay in roughly equal amounts, making it a balanced soil type. Humus is a dark, organic material that can be present in all soil types, including loam. Loess is a type of wind-deposited soil that may contain varying proportions of sand, silt, and clay. Silty clay is a soil type that is higher in clay and silt content than sand, and therefore not as well-balanced as loam.

Question 8

If a rock becomes oxidized, what type of weathering has that rock undergone? ____________________

Accepted Answer

The answer of If a rock becomes oxidized, what type...

Question 9

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, the meltwater from melting glaciers at its summit caused what type of mass wasting to occur? ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980,...

Question 10

If you are in a forest and see a tree stump breaking apart a rock, what type of weathering would this be considered?

Accepted Answer

The answer of If you are in a forest and...

Question 11

The process of moving loose gravel, sand, clay and soil by wind, water, or glaciers is ______________ which is different than the process by which solid rock is decomposed to loose gravel, sand, clay, and soil.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The process of moving loose gravel, sand,...

Question 12

The process by which solid rock is decomposed to loose gravel, sand, clay, and soil is called ____________________ which is different than the process of moving loose gravel, sand, clay and soil by wind, water, or glaciers.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The process by which solid rock is...

Question 13

Feldspar weathers to form clay by the process of ____.

Accepted Answer

Feldspar weathers by the process of hydrolysis, which involves the reaction between the mineral and water to form new minerals such as clay. Dissolution is the process of a mineral completely dissolving in water. Frost wedging is the physical weathering of rocks due to the expansion of water in cracks during freezing. Salt cracking is the weathering of rocks due to the growth of salt crystals in the pores of the rock. None of these processes directly lead to the formation of clay from feldspar.

Question 14

A type of mass wasting in which loose sediment moves downslope as a slurry-like fluid is called a(n) ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A type of mass wasting in which...

Question 15

If a rock gets water in a fracture or joint and it freezes at night, what type of physical weathering does that represent?

Accepted Answer

The answer of If a rock gets water in a...

Question 16

During ____, water dissolves a mineral to form a solution.

Accepted Answer

Dissolution occurs when a substance (in this case, a mineral) is dissolved in a solvent (in this case, water) to form a solution. Hydrolysis is a different process in which a water molecule is split into H+ and OH- ions and these ions react with a mineral to break it down. Frost wedging and abrasion are physical weathering processes and do not involve the dissolution of minerals by water.

Question 17

Frost wedging along canyon walls such as the Grand Canyon produce pile of loose, angular rock debris that accumulates beneath many cliffs and this pile of material is called what? _______________

Accepted Answer

The pile of loose, angular rock debris that accumulates beneath many cliffs due to frost wedging is called talus. Option A, litter refers to the layer of dead leaves and other organic material on the forest floor. Option B, topsoil refers to the upper layer of soil where most of the plant roots live. Option C, caliche refers to a hardened layer of calcium carbonate in the soil.

Question 18

If you see bent tree trunks that develops a J-shaped curve in a national park, this is an indicator of what specific type of flow? ___________________________________

Accepted Answer

The answer of If you see bent tree trunks that...

Question 19

____________________ is a hardpan that forms in arid and semiarid soils when calcium carbonate precipitates and cements the soil particles together.

Accepted Answer

The answer of ____________________ is a hardpan that forms in...

Question 20

The evaporative concentration of salts in soils, particularly those that are heavily irrigated, is called ____________________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The evaporative concentration of salts in soils,...

Quiz 10: Weathering, Soil, and Erosion