Lesson 4: Test Yourself

1. Contrast physical and chemical weathering. Give your own example please put
your references.

Weathering occurs when rock is broken by the force of another substance on the rock, such as
ice, running water, wind, rapid heating/cooling, or plant growth. Chemical weathering occurs when
reactions between a rock and another substance dissolve the rock, causing fragments to fall
away.

2. Describe the agents that cause erosion.

The majority of erosion is caused by liquid water, wind, or ice (usually in the form of a glacier).
Erosion occurs when the wind is dusty or the water or glacial ice is muddy. The brown color
indicates that rock and soil particles are suspended in a fluid (air or water) and being transported
from one location to another.

3. Define weathering and erosion then compare. Illustrate.

Weathering is the breakdown or dissolution of rocks and minerals on Earth's surface. After a rock
has been broken down, a process known as erosion carries the particles of rock and minerals
away. Water, acids, salt, plants, animals, and temperature fluctuations are all weathering and
erosion agents.