EARTH SCIENCE

Test Yourself

What is weathering and why is it important?

Weathering causes the breakdown of rock near the surface of the earth. Plant and animal life,
atmosphere and water are the major causes of weathering. Weathering breaks down and loosens
the surface minerals of rock so they can be transported away by agents of erosion such as water,
wind and ice. There are two types of weathering: mechanical and chemical. Weathering is
important because it produces parent material from which soil is formed. Results in the formation
of secondary minerals, the most important group being the clay minerals. smaller rocks are
weathered to the minerals that make up the rocks.

How is magma formed?

Magmas are formed under Earth’s deep crust or in the upper mantle. They are formed when
conditions are right to cause preexisting solid rocks to melt. Magma is generated in several ways,
Decompression Melting, Flux Melting and Heat Transfer Melting. It is also can be created when
hot, liquid rock intrudes into Earth’s cold crust. As the liquid rock solidifies, it loses its heat to the
surrounding crust. Much like hot fudge being poured over cold ice cream, this transfer of heat is
able to melt the surrounding rock into magma

How do rocks behave under different types of stress?

Rocks have three possible responses to increasing stress these are Tensional Stress,
Compressional Stress and Shear Stress, Rocks behave e\depends on factors such as Temperature
and Pressure Unbalanced forces acting on Earth's crust cause crustal movement. Some of the
forces acting on the crust are gravity (including the gravitational attraction by the Sun and Moon)
and forces caused by Earth's rotation, by the expansion and contraction of rock material due to
heating and cooling, and by density currents in Earth's mantle. The many forces acting on rock are
called stress. Stress can act upon rock in several different ways. A rock is under uniform stress
when the stress in all directions is equal.