Geography paper 1

• The main types of weathering are physical, chemical, biological
• Physical weathering is the breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces without changing their composition.
• Chemical weathering involves reactions between rock minerals and water or air to form new compounds that break up the original rock.
• Definition of Geomorphic processes


  processes that change the earth.
• What are the three categories we put rocks into?

  Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary
• Igneous rocks definition


  Volcanic rock made from

  molten material brought

  up to the Earth’s surface

  and cooled into solid

  rocks.

  Impermeable
• Examples of igneous rock

  Granite and basalt
• Metamorphic rock definition


  Folded and distorted igneous or

  sedimentary rock from heat and

  pressure as Earth’s tectonic

  plates move.
• Metamorphic rock examples


  Slate and gneiss
• sedimentary rock definition


  Made up of the skeletons of

  marine organisms and broken

  fragments of rock worn down

  by weathering. It is deposited

  in layers, often underwater.

  Permeable
• Sedimentary rocks examples 


  Chalk and limestone
• Deposition - When materials are carried away by an agent of erosion and then dropped off at another location due to changes in flow direction or decreased energy levels.
• Erosion - The movement of loose sediments and soil particles caused by wind, running water, waves, ice, and gravity. Erosion can be very slow or rapid depending on the type of erosion process involved.
• Weathering - The breakdown of rocks by physical processes such as freezing and thawing, chemical reactions with water and air, and biological activity (such as plant roots).
• Transportation - The movement of eroded material from one place to another through various agents like wind, water, glaciers, and mass wasting.
• Landscape


  the visible features that make up the surface of the land
• Built landscape


  large number of man-made features e.g. road, bridges
• Natural landscape


  consist of natural features e.g. rivers, beaches
• Variable element


  change from day to day e.g. weather
• Relief


  the way the landscape changes with height
• Upland


  areas that are high above sea level e.g. Grampian Mountains
• Lowland


  areas that are low above sea level e.g. The Fen in East Anglia
• Glaciation


  The build up of ice on the land during colder periods in time.
• Ice age


  a time when glaciers covered much of the land
• Geology


  the type of rock
• igneous rock


  rock that forms when magma cools and solidifies
• sedimentary rock


  rocks formed from the bodies of sea creatures
• Land use


  What the land is used for
• Upland area characteristics


  Igneous rocks such as granite

  Thin, poor quality soils with few nutrients

  High amounts of rainfall, lower temperatures

  Sheep farming, tourism
• Lowland area characteristics


  Sedimentary rocks such as limestone

  Thick, fertile soils that are good for farming

  Low amounts of rainfall, warmer temperatures

  Crop farming, urban areas
• Freeze-thaw weathering


  a form of mechanical weathering-water in rock freezes and expands, breaking rock apart
• Chemical weathering


  rainwater and seawater can be a weak acid which can dissolve rocks such as limestone
• biological weathering


  plants and animals break down rocks
• Mass movement


  downhill movement of sediment due to gravity. 2 main types-sliding and slumping
• Sliding


  Large blocks of rock slide downhill
• Slumping


  Saturated soil slumps down a curved surface.
• Hydraulic action


  the sheer power of waves as they smash against a cliff. Air becomes trapped and compressed into cracks in the rocks with explosive force making the rock
• Abrasion


  pebbles along rock platform
• traction


  big stones dragged across the river bed
• saltation


  Small stones and pebbles are bounced along the river bed