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Book Topic Question Set for Chapters Related to Sedimentary Rock Processes
Chapter 12.1 (Weathering)
1. The process where water freezing in cracks in rocks wedges the rock apart is called
______________.
2. ______________ is the type of mechanical weathering where rock material is worn away by
impact.
3. Large, layered slabs of rock are often produced on the surfaces of exposed igneous plutons
as a result of the weathering process called ______________.
4. The chemical weathering process where water reacts with minerals in rock is called
______________.
5. Identify a common mineral that undergoes the above process to form clay.
6. According to the book, what would cause rain water to become acidic?
7. What chemical sedimentary rock (mineral) is completely dissolved by carbonic acid? What
is often formed underground as a result of the dissolution of large amounts of this material?
8. When rocks contain minerals that have iron in them, the chemical weathering process called
______________ is an effective weathering agent.
Chapter 12.2 (Soils)
9. Accumulations of unlithified clastic and organic sediments in which plants grow is called
______________.
10. The unweathered rock from which soil is produced is called its ______________.
11. Soil whose parent material is directly beneath it is called a ______________.
12. What do you think “Residue” means?
13. If a soil in Nebraska is composed of material carried and deposited by Glaciers from the
Dakotas would be called a ______________ soil.
14. What two things affect the rate at which soils are formed?
15. Why is the A Horizon of a soil profile usually darker than the other layers of a soil profile?
16. Why does the B-Horizon usually contain more oxides, clay and soluble minerals than the AHorizon?
17. The C-Horizon is composed of ______________.
18. Based on the map on American soils on page 266, describe a typical soil of Virginia?
19. Based on what you have learned about weathering and erosion identify some examples of
minerals that you think would be present in the soils of Virginia.
Chapter 12.3 (Mass movement and erosion)
20. Define Mass Movement:
21. How does the text explain the difference between mass movement and erosion?
22. What term is used by geologist to describe a pile of sediment that has been pulled down
from a cliff by gravity?
23. What is a landslide and what causes them to occur?
24. Geologist use the following terms to describe types of landslides, define what each term
means:
a. Creep:
b. Slump:
c. Earthflows:
d. Mudflows:
25. How does erosion affect the landscape?
Chapter 12.4 (Soil as a Resource)
26. What is a “fertile” soil?
27. Define “depleted” soil?
28. How can irrigation in desert environments be harmful to soils?
29. Soil salinization occurs when:
Chapter 13.1 (Streams and Rivers)
1. A Tributary is:
2. A Delta is:
3. All of the land that drains into a river either directly or through its tributaries is called the
river’s ______________.
4. A “boundary” of higher elevation land that separates one drainage basin from another is
called a ________________________.
5. The divide that separates the major drainage basins of the West from those of the Eastern
United States is called the ___________________________________.
6. The largest drainage basin in the United States is the ____________________________.
7. Identify four factors that affect the ability of a river to erode and transport sediments.
8. What are some factors that affect a river’s velocity?
9. What are some factors that affect the discharge of a river along its course?
10. The path through which a river flows is called its _____________________________ .
Chapter 13.2 (Stream Erosion and Deposition)
11. Most weathering (identified as erosion in the text) in a river results from what?
12. What is the typical shape of river/stream sediments?
13. The three ways in which a rive transports sediments include:
14. Water in a river would be muddy, because it is carrying sediments in _________________.
15. What causes turbulence in a river/stream?
16. What are the typical sediment sizes that are involved in the bed load of a river/stream?
17. How is the Stream/Bed Load of a river moved?
18. Identify one thing that would decrease a body of water’s sediment transporting capacity.
19. At a curve in a river/stream, the velocity of the water ___________________ (increases or
decreases?) on the inside of the curve and ____________________ (increases or decreases?)
on the outside of the curve.
20. In the above instance where would sediments most likely be deposited?
21. Where does the greatest loss in a river’s velocity and significant amount of sediment
deposition occur?
22. Define Alluvial Fan:
23. How are the sediments in an alluvial fan different from those in a delta?
Chapter 13. 3 (River Valleys)
24. River valleys with steep, almost vertical sides are called_________________________.
25. Young rivers have ______-shaped valleys.
26. (True/False) Individual rapids and waterfalls are, more or less, permanent features of a river.
Chapter 13.4 (Floodplains and Floods)
27. The part of a river valley that is inundated during a flood is called the river’s
______________.
28. (True/False) A meandering river will always look the same. Explain your answer.
Chapter 14.1 (Water in the Ground)
1. Define “Groundwater”:
2. What are four factors that influence the rate at which water enters the groundwater
“system”?
3. Define “Porosity”:
4. What are some factors that affect soil porosity?
5. Which particle shape is more porous, round or flat sediments?
6. Which sediments are more porous, well-sorted or poorly-sorted sediments?
7. Define “Permeability”:
8. How does the grain size and shape affect the permeability of sediments/soils?
9. If water can’t pass through a material, it is considered to be ______________________.
10. The part of the ground where all pore spaces are filled with water is called the Zone of
____________________.
11. If you were digging a well, what would you call the point at which you hit water?
12. Organisms that breathe air would live in which part of the soil profile, the zone of aeration
or the zone of saturation?
13. If you barely put the tip of your finger in water, then pull it up slightly, the water will remain
connected to your finger. This phenomenon also causes water to be attracted to soil above
the water table. What is this called?
14. Identify seven things that affect the distance of the water table from the surface.
15. What might happen during a dry period, if a well was not dug deep enough below the water
table?
16. When the water table reaches the surface, what might you find?
17. In the picture on page 303, why is there a spring above the impermeable layer?
18. Permeable layers of sediment or rock that store and carry groundwater are called
____________________.
19. In the picture on page 304, why does the water that falls in the mountains end up coming out
of the ground at the artesian well to the right?
20. What is an Artesian Well?
21. Identify two ways that water would become hot.
22. What is a geyser?
Chapter 14.2
23. Identify two major problems that communities who rely on groundwater might be facing,
today.
Chapter 14.3
24. What are some factors that affect the amount of dissolved minerals in groundwater?
25. How are groundwater minerals important to the formation of sedimentary rock?
26. The most easily dissolved bedrock is _________________________.
27. What naturally occurring acid is most responsible for dissolving limestone rock?
28. What is Karst Topography?
29. Identify three main features of Karst Topography.
Water Budget Graph (Page 313)
30. During which months might the city of Little Rock prohibit watering of lawns?
31. During which months would the water table be rising?
Chapter 15.1 (What is a Glacier?)
1. What percent of the Earth’s fresh water is frozen in glaciers?
2. What is a snow line?
3. Describe how a glacier forms.
4. Describe the differences between a valley glacier and a continental glacier.
5. How is sediment transported by a glacier?
6. What are the two main processes by which glaciers move?
7. What is a crevasse, and how does it form?
8. What causes a glacier’s ice front to recede? to advance?
9. How does erosion by continental glaciers differ from erosion by valley glaciers?
10. Glacial sediment is called __________________________.
11. A mounded, usually unsorted accumulation of glacial sediment is called a ______________.
12. Valleys created by glaciers are what shape?
13. Why do rivers and glaciers create valleys with different shapes?
14. How do till deposits differ from outwash deposits?
15. How is a terminal moraine different from a recession moraine?
16. What are the key land features a geologist would look for to determine if an area was once
exposed to glaciations?
17. Identify four causes of ice ages.