Environmental Science Fill in the Blank Notes
Weathering/Erosion/Changes in the Earth Systems
New Voc. Words: mechanical and chemical weathering, frost wedging, exfoliation, hydrolysis,
oxidation, acid precipitation, erosion, deposition, mass movement erosion, creep, mudflows, landslides,
rockslides, slump, avalanches, rock falls, alluvial fan, delta, Divergent, convergent, and transform plate
boundaries, soil, soil profile, O-Horizon, A-Horizon, leaching, Ice Age, Interglacial periods , El Niño,
tributaries, trunk, divide, watershed, stream loads, suspension, bed load, young stream, stream channel,
stream bank, mature stream, meander, old stream, floodplain, Zone of aeration, cave, sinkholes, Karst
topography, spring, geyser, Travertine, stalactites, stalagmites, nutrient, territory, dormant, hibernation,
species, habitat, geographical range, population, community, ecosystem, biodiversity, transpiration,
Carbon sequestration, biomass, and prescribed burning
Earth changes occur over time due to _____________________ and ________________________. They
affect all the Earth Systems including the Biosphere.
__________________-Is the breaking down of rock material by mechanical or chemical means.
 Mechanical Examples:
o A tree root forcing the breakage of concrete in a cement sidewalk.
o Swift movements of a river lifting rocks from the bottom and forcing the rocks to
collide with other rocks.
o _____________________: The repeating thawing and freezing of water trapped
in cracks of rocks and later freezing, expanding, and breaking rocks apart.
o ________________: The process of the outer layers of rock being stripped away.
What is mechanical weathering and what factors are involved?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Factors are ___________________ and _________________________

Chemical Examples:
o Water is the main cause of chemical weathering because it dissolves minerals.
and then carries them away, leaving behind now a different composition.
o ____________________-the reactions of water decomposing another substance.
o Water and air comes in contact with some minerals in rocks like feldspar to form
_______________.
o Water and Oxygen causes _____________________ (a chemical reaction
occurring from the adding of oxygen and usually water) to occur when an
exposed metal such as iron forms rust.
o Carbonic acid forms by mixing water with __________________ from in the
atmosphere. This acid dissolved minerals like _______________, the main
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mineral in the rock limestone. Over time this acid can dissolve enough limestone
to form underground caves.
o ______________________________________ (usually in the form of acid rain):
oxidation of sulfur dioxide to sulfuric acid or nitrogen oxide to nitric acid. Both
change the pH of rain water from 7 to an average pH of 4.3 forming acid rain.
 Pure water has a pH __________ (neutral). The normal rain pH is
__________________ due to the natural atmospheric chemical reactions
 The formation of acid rain begins with the _______________ reacting to
_______________. Then the oxygen reacts with water and sulfur dioxide
or nitrogen oxide.
 Acid precipitation can be ________ (smoke and dust that stick to the
ground, buildings, homes, cars, and trees) or ______ (rain, fog, and snow)
 Acid rain caused problems:
 acceleration of the rusting oxidation reaction of metals
 damaging plant life including trees and forests
 lowering the pH of the soil and water
 Killing of fish and other organisms that can't adapt to the lowered
pH levels
 hastens the natural weathering process of limestone, marble, and
mortar
 the decay of paint on vehicles and buildings
 human health problems worsen (especially those with ________)
What is chemical weathering and what factors are involved?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Factors are ____________ plus some other substance
What are other factors that affect weathering?
The greater the ____________________ the more weathering that occurs. ____________ of
topography and _______________ of organic material are also factors.
________________-Is the wearing away of the Earth either by surface or ground water, wind,
glaciers, and/or gravity
 ____________________ is the final stage of erosion where the worn material is
deposited somewhere else.
What are the types of erosion?
1. ___________________________________-Occur when gravity alone causes loose
sediments and weathered rocks to move down a slope.
 Some are _____________ while others are very ____________________.
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

________________ has a great effect on the ____________________ and the
weathering that occurs in a particular area.
Climatic conditions determine which _________________ and how much of each
will be available for mass movement.
Variables:
 The material's weight
 The material's resistance to slide or flow down a slope
 A ________________ is needed to shake materials loose and cause it to
go down a slope
 ______________: too little water may prevent sediments from holding
together allowing movement and too much water makes a slope unstable
allowing movement
Types of Mass Movement:
a) _____________: Slowly inches down a hill (Ex. Leaning poles)
b) _____________: Sudden wall of mud made of mixed water and dry sediments that
come of a slope and that gets thick and pasty. (Speeds up to 100 miles/hour)
c) _____________: A rapid, downslope movement of material that occur when a thin
block of loose soil, rock, and debris separates from the underlying bedrock.
d) _____________: Occurs when large blocks of rocks break loose from a steep slope
(usually after earthquakes and heavy rains).
e) _____________: Occurs when loose material or rock layers slip down a slope.
 Strong rock or sediment lies over weaker material causing the weaker to
loosen and fall
 Sometimes water penetrates the upper slopes and can't escape causing
mudslides
f) _____________: Landslides in mountainous areas with a large accumulation of
snow.
 Three types-dry (powder is the most destructive), wet, and slab
g) _____________: A rock or two falling down a slope. Common at high elevations, in
steep rock cuts, and on rocky shorelines.
2. _____________________________ Erosion/Deposition-several types
a.) __________________: Fan shaped sediment pile on land (Surface water deposition)
b.) ______________: Triangular shaped sediment deposited into the mouth of an
ocean, gulf, or lake
3. Glacial Erosion
4. Wind Erosion
I. The Changing Lithosphere
 The lithosphere is the Crust and part of the Upper Mantle
o The crust is either oceanic and/or continental
 The lithosphere is made up of several movable tectonic plates that help change the
Earth.
o The movement of the plates is determined by the type of Plate Boundary
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



__________________-the plates move away from one another (often
made from continental crust)
 Rift valleys form which can later be filled with sea or ocean water
________________-the plates move toward and collide into one another
 Three types
o Continental to Continental
o Continental to Oceanic
o Oceanic to Oceanic
________________________-the plates slide past one another in
opposite directions or at different rates or combination of both
The ______ is part of the crust and changes because of natural and human disturbances.
What is soil?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
What is a soil profile?
_________________________________
Important for farmers and
gardeners to have a good ____________________________ (A horizon)
What is the types of layers of soil (Horizons) in order?
There are five major horizons
and then the ________________ (non-soil layer which is the bedrock also called
____________________).
1. _______________-Organic layer (surface layer if present)-Composed of fresh or
partially decomposed organic material that has not been mixed into the A horizon.
 Absent in cultivated soils
 More nutrient rich than the other layers
2. __________
- the 1st mineral layer (top soil) has a high content of organic
matter.
3. ________________-is the clay, inorganic minerals, and soluble matter layer
 ___________________________________-where the process of
minerals being dissolved in water and carried down into the B-horizon.
4. ________________-Below the E-horizon and contains the leaching material from
the E-Horizon. (Color varies due to the minerals leached-very pale brown to
reddish and yellowish color)
5. ________________- contains active weathering, but it has little affect on the soil
formation.
II. Changes in the Hydrosphere
 Ice age
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o Glacial periods-increase in glaciers
o _______________________-melting of the glaciers (occurring now)

El Niño
o Warming of the Pacific Ocean which causes opposite conditions in some areas.
 Some drought areas get flooding
 Some areas that normally get a lot of rain have drought conditions
 Our worst snowstorms in our area often occur during these times

Water movement
o Erosion
o Water Cycle
o Surface Water movement
 ____________________________________________________:
 Most streams flow downslope and later into lakes, oceans, and
___________________ (they flow into other streams increasing in
size as they are joining and adding water to it)
 Small streams are called Brooks and Creeks
 Large streams are rivers and all its tributaries
 Drainage basin/Watershed: The ____________ is an area of land
where a stream gets its water.
 The trunk separates one watershed from another by high
ground called a _____________ (These are the branches)
 ___________________ are all the materials that the water in
the stream carries consisting of living and nonliving
components.
 Materials carried are in a __________________.
 _______________: All particles small enough to be held up by
the turbulence of a stream's movement. ( sand, silt, and clay)
 _______________: Consist of sand, pebbles, and cobbles that
the stream's water can roll or push along the bed of a stream.
 Erosion causes the divide to make the bottom deeper than the
sides and more narrow. The steep sides are called the
___________________________________.
 The largest drainage basin is the
__________________________________________________.
 ________________________________________________
1. ___________________________: (Headwaters)-fastest water
 Found in mountainous or hilly regions
 May have whitewater rapids and waterfalls
2. __________________________: vary in speed
 The curves in the stream are called the __________________.
3. _______________________: slowest water
 As erosion continues the stream gets very wide.
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
The broad, flat valley floor carved with the curves is known as
the _____________________. Many farmers love to plant
crops in their rich fertile areas.
o Groundwater movement
 The first and shallow underground water is called the
______________________. This area allows plants to get moisture.
 A ________________ forms in places where the water table meets the
Earth's surface. (They are usually cold water.)
 If springs are heated to very high temperatures, the water expands
underground and forces some of it to shoot out of the ground to release the
pressure. They are known as ____________________. (Old Faithful in
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming shoots out about 40,000 L of water
and steam once each hour.)
 Groundwater will keep going lower in elevation until it reaches a layer of
impermeable rock below the aquifer. This rock acts like a barrier and the
water can't move down any deeper.
 As groundwater and carbon dioxide mix they form carbonic acid and cause
erosion in cracks enlarging in the limestone forming ______________.
There are three main types of caves:
1. ______________________________- Have water pass through the air
and ground to pick up Carbon dioxide to form Carbonic Acid. Slow
process. Example: Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is the longest cave
system in the world.
2. _______________________________-Old Lava tubes that formed as
the red-hot lava flows down the side of the volcano are now empty and
hollow. Example: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
3. _______________________-Hydrogen sulfide gas rose from petroleum
deposits deep in the ground to mix with water creating Sulfuric acid.
This substance dissolves rock much faster than Carbonic Acid leaving
huge rooms in caves. Example: Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
 Groundwater deposits are made from natural deposits of dissolved
limestone in water with calcium ions that often drip (known as pearls) slowly
from the cracks in the cave walls and ceilings They leave deposits of ______.
 _______________ is the inorganic limestone that drips from caves
 ____________________: Hang from the roof
 ____________________: form on the floor
 ______________ are a depression formed when the roof of a cave collapses.
 Limestone regions with caves and sinkholes are called
______________________________.
 Most prominent regions in the USA to have caves and sinkholes is
Mammoth Cave in Kentucky.
 Most of the lakes in Central ____________are made of sinkholes.
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III. Changes in the Atmosphere
 Greenhouse effect
Diagram from Project Learning Tree-Southeastern Forests and Climate Change
o Ozone depletion
o _____________________________-when glaciers are not forming
IV. Changes in the Biosphere
Organism must have food for _______________ in the form of _______________ to stay
healthy. They must also find water and shelter. Competition for these items is an ongoing
battle.
 Living Space
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
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o ___________________-living space claimed by an individual animal or group of
animals
Climate
o __________________-The life processes slow down
o __________________-A dormant sleep-like condition
__________________: Where an organism lives
____________________________: The total area where a species lives
____________________: Group of the same species living in the same geographic area
____________________: All the different organism living in the same geographic range
_________________: Biotic and Abiotic factors interacting together in their community
Organization (or Hierarchy) of Life
Organism (species)-lowest
nd
2 Population
3rd Community
4th Ecosystem
5th Biosphere –top
1st
Biosphere
______________
Ecosystem
________________________
Community
____________________________________
Population
________________________________________________
Organism
You Depend on Forests For Many Things in the Environment
How does the forests benefit us?
1. _________________________: clean water, oxygen, nutrient cycling, carbon storage,
temperature regulation and rainfall ________________________ (the absorption and
releasing of water through the roots and leaves of trees). The movement of water can
influence area temperatures and yearly rainfall.
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2. ___________________________- the process through which CO2 from the atmosphere is
absorbed by plants, crops, and trees through photosynthesis, and then is stored as carbon in
the _________________ (tree trunks, branches, leaves, roots, and the soil around them).
3. Heat supply: charcoal and firewood
4. Shelter: lumber
5. Food/supplies/medicine: nuts, paper, medicine, turpentine, etc.
6. Recreation: fishing, hiking, hunting, solitude, etc.
7. Wildlife Habitat
How are forests today changing?
1. Invasive species
2. _______________-shapes many forests, allows species reproduction, influences
decomposition, and nutrient cycling
3. Forest management -_______________________________ (controls natural or man-made
fires to burn in a certain area, under specific weather conditions to reduce the fuel of a
dangerous fire.
4. Climate change: The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased by 35% from 1850 to
2010. Climate change has occurred mainly because of human activities: ________________
___________________________. Greenhouse gases such as CO2 will warm the Earth's
atmosphere, causing changes in ________________________________________________
_________________________.
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