Earth Materials and Processes, Earth and Life Science

Geologic Processes on Earth’s Surface

Lesson6 chapters

Questions

Objectives

At the end of the class discussion, you will be able to describe how rocks undergo different processes of
weathering and explain how the products of weathering are carried away by erosion and deposition.

The Earth is constantly changing through the years. According to the Continental Drift Theory proposed
by Alfred Wegener, the Earth was once a giant landmass called Pangaea. This giant landmass was broken
down into several continents because of the movement beneath the Earth’s surface.

If continents came from a giant landmass, can you imagine how the mountains, volcanoes, and soil are
formed?

Learn about it!

Shaping the Earth’s surface involves a geological process called weathering. Weathering is the process of
breaking down rocks into smaller pieces called sediments.

Different Types of Weathering

All rocks undergo weathering, and it takes a long period. There are three different types of rock
weathering: mechanical weathering, chemical weathering, and biological weathering.

Mechanical weathering is a process wherein rocks are broken down into smaller pieces without changing
its chemical composition due to different temperatures and water. Rocks in the highway develop cracks
and small fractures because of too much exposure to heat. This activity is an example of mechanical
weathering.
Chemical weathering is a process wherein rock materials are changed into other substances that have
different physical and chemical compositions. Some agents of chemical weathering include water, strong
acids, and oxygen. Water hydrates and breaks the minerals in the rocks through the process of
hydrolysis. Oxygen combines with metals to produce oxides while acids from vents and volcanoes
increase the speed of weathering process. One example of chemical weathering in rocks is when
rainwater hydrolyzed the feldspar minerals to form clay minerals.

Biological weathering is a process when living things, such as insects and roots of the trees, contribute to
the disintegration of rock materials. For example, mosses and fungi that grow on rocks produce weak
acids that can destroy or dissolve the rocks.

Erosion

Erosion is the transportation of weathered rocks. Agents like running water or rivers, wind, gravity,
groundwater, wave currents, and glaciers contribute to erosion.

Types of Erosion

Water erosion is a type of erosion where the water carries the sediments to different parts of the bodies
of water such as rivers.

Wind erosion happens when light materials, such as small rocks and pebbles, are carried by wind to
different places.

Glacial erosion happens when the ice moves downhill and plucks out chunks of rocks and causes
scraping between the ice and the rock. Plucking and scraping can lead to the development of other
landforms if, for example, the glaciers hit a mountain and erode it.

Soil erosion happens when the top soil is removed and leaves the soil infertile. This is caused by wind or
flood in an area.

Deposition

Deposition is the laying down of sediments to its depositional environment or final destination. The
depositional environment can be continental, coastal, or marine.
Continental includes streams, swamps, caves, and deserts.

Coastal includes lagoons, estuaries, and deltas.

Marine includes slopes and bottom of the ocean or abyssal zone.

Explore!

Our country is a pathway of typhoons because of our location in the globe. The government always
warns us, especially those who reside near the slopes or low-lying areas, to evacuate immediately when
this happens. Given the different types of erosion you have learned, particularly soil erosion, what would
you suggest that the government should do to minimize the devastating effects of this erosion?

Try it!

Take a tour in a nearby river. Observe the different types of rocks that you will see and take note of their
physical characteristics. What can you say about those rocks?

What do you think?

Why do you think is it necessary for the rocks to undergo the process of weathering?

Key Points

Weathering is the process of breaking down rocks into smaller pieces called sediments.

Erosion is the removal of weathered rocks downslope from the original place of weathering.

Deposition is the laying down of sediments to its depositional environment or final destination

Which of the following is not a type of weathering?

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Q2Single Answer

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It is the process of breaking rocks into smaller pieces called sediments.

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Q3Single Answer

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This type of erosion happens when light materials, such as small rocks and pebbles, are carried by the
wind to different places.

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Q4Multiple Choice

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Which of the following are the agents of erosion?

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Q5Multiple Choice

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What are the disadvantages of soil erosion?

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Q6Single Answer

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Which of the following is not true about chemical weathering?

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Q7Single Answer

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Which of the following human activities helps reduce the effect of soil erosion?

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Q8Single Answer

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What is the role of water in chemical weathering of rocks?

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Q9Single Answer

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Which of the following human activities reduces the quality of the top soil?

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Q10Single Answer

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Which of the following is not an example of areas where the sediments are deposited?