Earth Science

• Thermal expansion and contraction is a type of mechanical weathering that happens when rocks expand and contract due to changes in temperature, causing them to crack and break apart.
• Hydrolysis is a chemical weathering process caused by acid rain, which can dissolve minerals such as calcium carbonate (limestone) and magnesium silicate (talc).
• Frost wedging occurs when water enters small cracks in rocks and then freezes, expanding and forcing the rock apart.
• Crystallisation is a process where water seeps into cracks and crevices in rock formations, freezes during winter months, expands as it turns to ice, and causes the rock to fracture or split along existing fault lines.
• Erosion is the process by which materials are removed from one place and transported to another.
• Weathering is the breakdown or alteration of rocks due to physical, chemical, or biological agents.
• The main types of exogenic processes are weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, and formation.
• Natural ecosystems develop and adapt over time following a process of ecological succession.
• The plates of the Earth's lithosphere move as rigid pieces that slide over hot asthenosphere.
• Solution is the process where water dissolves soluble materials from rock or soil, carrying away nutrients and other substances.
• Crystallization occurs when water evaporates and leaves behind mineral deposits on surfaces like walls, floors, and furniture.
• Salt crystallization involves saltwater seeping into rocks and evaporating, leaving behind salts that cause the rock to swell and eventually fracture or disintegrate.
• Hydration involves the addition of water molecules to form new compounds with different properties than the original material.
• Chemical weathering processes include hydrolysis, oxidation-reduction reactions, hydration, and carbonation.
• Salt crystallization is a process where saltwater seeps into porous rocks like sandstone and limestone, evaporates, leaving behind deposits of salts that cause the rock to swell and eventually shatter.
• Transportation refers to how eroded material moves through different processes like running water, wind, glaciers, waves, etc.
• Deposition involves the deposition of sediment at its final destination.
• Mechanical weathering includes frost action, thermal expansion/contraction, and abrasion.
• Exogenic processes involve the movement of material through time and space.
• The rate at which exogenic processes occur depends on factors such as climate, geology, vegetation cover, topography, and human activity.
• The three main types of erosion include physical, chemical, and biological erosion.
• Physical weathering involves the breaking down of rocks without any change in their composition.
• Climate plays an important role in determining the intensity and frequency of erosion and deposition processes.
• Plate tectonics explains how continents drift apart and collide with each other.
• Plate tectonics refers to the movement of these plates on top of the mantle.
• Hydrolysis is the process where water breaks down minerals into their constituent elements.
• Mechanical weathering includes freeze-thaw cycles, salt crystallization, frost shattering, and abrasion.
• There are three major plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform.
• Biological weathering involves organisms breaking down rocks through acid production, root growth, and burrowing activities.
• Convergent boundaries occur when two plates meet at an angle less than 90 degrees.
• Divergent boundaries occur when two plates move away from each other.
• Divergent boundaries occur when two plates move away from each other, creating new ocean floor at mid-ocean ridges.
• Oxidation-Reduction Reactions involve the transfer of electrons between atoms, leading to changes in chemical composition.
• Carbonation is the reaction of calcium carbonate (limestone) with acid rain, producing calcium bicarbonate which can be washed away by water.
• Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction between an acid (such as rainwater) and a base (like calcium carbonate), resulting in the formation of a solid compound and a liquid product.
• Abrasion is the scraping of rock material by grinding action. It is usually caused by sediment in Wind, Water, and Glaciers.
• Wind abrasion is the process of wearing away of a solid object due to the impact of particles by the wind.
• Hydraulic abrasion occurs when the motion of water and sediments scrape a rock surface
• Plants and animals can also affect weathering as plant roots split rocks and animals dig holes that causes the breakdown of rocks.
• Exfoliation or also known as Onion skin weathering is the gradual peeling of layers due to uplift.