| A | B |
|---|
| Weathering | processes that change the physical and chemical character of rock |
| Erosion | physical removal of rock particles by water or a glacier |
| Transportation | movement of eroded particles by rivers |
| mechanical weathering | breaks rock into smaller pieces |
| chemical weathering | decomposition of rock from exposure to water and gases |
| spheroidal weathering | makes a rock into a rounded shape |
| differential weathering | varying rates of weathering where some rocks are more resistant to weathering than others |
| frost action | mechanical effect of freezing water on rocks |
| frost wedging | expansion of freezing water pries the rock apart |
| frost heaving | lifts rock and soil vertically |
| exfoliate | when layers of rock peel off a larger rock |
| rock decomposition | makes rocks and minerals into new chemical products |
| soil | a layer of weathered unconsolidated material on top of bedrock |
| loam | soil with equal amounts of sand |
| O Horizon | uppermost soil layer that has organic matter |
| A Horizon | dark soil layer just below the surface |
| Humus | decomposed plant material |
| E Horizon | zone of leaching |
| B Horizon | zone of accumulation |
| C Horizon | incompletely weathered parent rock |
| residual soil | develops from the rock below it |
| transported soil | forms from sediment dropped by water |
| loess | transported soil that is wind deposited |
| hardpan | layer of hard material that is difficult to dig or drill through |
| laterites | highly leached soil |
| paleosol | soil buried under volcanic ash or sediment |
