Unit at a Glance
Chapter 10/12: Weathering, Erosion, Deposition
and Soil Formation
Standards
S6E5: Students will investigate the scientific view of how the Earth's surface is
formed.
c. Describe the processes that change rocks and the surface of the Earth
e. Explain the effects of physical processes (plate tectonics, erosion, deposition,
volcanic eruption, gravity) on geological features including oceans (composition,
currents, and tides).
g. Describe soil as consisting of weathered rocks and decomposed organic
material.Explain the effects of human activity on the erosion of the Earth's surface.
Unit Vocabulary
Chapter 10-Weathering and Soil Formation
Weathering:the process by which rock materials are broken down by the action of physical or
chemical processes
Mechanical Weathering:the breakdown of rock into smaller pieces by physical means
Chemical Weathering:the process by which rocks break down as a result of chemical reactions
Abrasion:the grinding and wearing away of rock surfaces through the mechanical action of
other rock or sand particles
Acid Precipitation:rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids
Oxidation:a chemical reaction in which an element, such as iron, combines with oxygen to
form an oxide
Parent Rock:the source of mineral fragments in the soil
Soil:a loose mixture of small mineral fragments, organic material, water, and air that can
support the growth of vegetation
Bedrock:the layer of rock beneath the soil
Transported Soil:soil that is blown or washed away from its parent rock
Chapter 12-Agents of Erosion and Deposition
Shoreline:the place where land and a body of water meet
Beach:an area of the shoreline made of material deposited by waves
Wave Train:group of waves
Unit at a Glance
Wave Period:the time interval between breaking waves
Longshore Current:a water current that moves in a zigzag pattern along a beach
Saltation:the skipping and bouncing of sand-sized particles in the direction the wind is blowing
Abrasion:the grinding and wearing down of rock surfaces by other rock or sand particles
Deflation:the removal of fine sediment by wind
Loess:fine-grained sediment deposited by wind
Dunes:mounds of sand deposited by wind
Glacier:a gigantic mass of moving ice
Glacial Drift:all material carried and deposited by glaciers
Stratified Drift:a glacial deposit that is sorted into layers based on the size of the rock material
Till:unsorted rock material deposited directly by ice as it melts
Mass Movement:the movement of any section of land down aslope
Landslide:the sudden rapid movement of rock and soil down a slope
Rockfall:a group of loose rocks falling down a slope
Mudflow:the flow of a large amount of mud or rock and soil mixed with water
Creep:the slow downhill movement of rock material
Essential Questions
What is weathering?
Why is having good soil so important?
What are the two different types of
How can sediment be eroded from one
weathering?
place to another?
Do all rocks weather at the same speed?
What is deposition?
What are soil horizons?
What features on Earth’s surface are
created by deposition?