| A | B |
|---|
| weathering | breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces |
| mechanical weathering | the physical breaking of rocks into smaller pieces |
| chemical weathering | chemical changes in rocks that break them into smaller pieces |
| abrasion | scraping of rocks against each other |
| factors that determine the rate in which rocks weather | type of rock and climate |
| erosion | the process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves weathered rock and soil |
| deposition | process in which sediment is laid down in a new location |
| sediment | the material deposited by erosion |
| gravity | the force that causes mass movement |
| landslide | rock and soil move quickly downhill |
| mudslide | rock, soil, and water move downhill |
| slump | rock and soil move downhill in one large mass |
| creep | rock and soil move slowly downhill |
| igneous rocks | rocks formed from cooling magma or lava |
| metamorphic rocks | rocks formed from intense heat and pressure |
| sedimentary rocks | rocks formed from layers of weathered rock that build up and cement together |
| ice wedging | the repeated freezing of water in the cracks of rocks breaking them apart |
| permeable | a material is full of tiny, connected air spaces that allow water to seep through it |
| soil | the loose, weathered material on Earth's surface in which plants can grow |
| soil formation | weathered rock mixes with other materials near the surface |
| bedrock | solid layer of rock beneath the soil |
| soil composition | rock particles, minerals, decayed organic materia, air, and water |
| humus | decayed organic material in soil |
| loam | soil that is made up of equal amounts of clay, silt, and sand |
| decomposers | organisms that break the remains of dead organisms into smaller pieces |
| texture | the look and feel of a rock's surface |
| grains | particles of minerals and other rocks |
| foliated | grains arranged in parallel layers or bands |
