| A | B |
|---|
| weathering | the change in the physical form or chemical composition of rock materials exps. at the earth's surface |
| Mechanical Weathering | breaks down rocks physically |
| Chemical Weathering | breaks down rocks by changing its chemical composition |
| ice-wedging | occurs when water seeps into cracks or joints in rock and freezes |
| abrasion | the collision of rocks with one another, resulting in the breaking and wearing away of the rocks |
| hydrolysis | The change in the composition of minerals when they react chemically with water |
| leaching | when the water carries the dissolved minerals to lower layers of rock |
| carbonation | H2CO3 |
| oxidation | attacks rocks with iron-bearing minerals |
| humus | a dark, organic material |
| soil profile | a cross section in which layers of the soil and the bedrock beneath the soil can be seen |
| horizons | layers of a soil profile |
| laterites | thick soils caused by chemical weathering |
| erosion | the process by which the products of weathering are transported |
| sheet erosion | when topsoil exposes the surface of the subsoil or the partially weathered bedrock |
| mass movement | when gravity causes rock fragments to move down inclines |
| rockfall | the fall of rock from a steep cliff |
| landslide | the sudden movement of masses of loose rock and soil down the slope of a hill, mountain, or cliff |
| mudflow | the rapid movement of a large mass of mud |
| slump | when a large block of soil and rock becomes unstable and moves downhill under the influence of gravity |
