Weathering, Erosion & Soil Formation Test Study Guide
Name: ______________________________________________________ Date: ______________ Period: _________
Part A: Answer the questions below to help you review.
1. What are at least three agents of weathering and erosion?
a. Water
b. Ice
c. Wind
2. What is the difference between soil structure and soil texture?
a. Soil texture is the quality that is based on the proportions of soil particles
b. Soil structure is the arrangement of soil particles
3. Leaching is the removal of substances that can be dissolved from rock or layers of soil when water passes
through it.
4. What can affect how fast or slow an area of rock will be weathered? The rate of at which a rock weathers
depends on climate, elevation, and the makeup of the rock.
5. Abrasion is what happens when wind blows sand and silt against exposed rock and wears away the rock’s
surface.
6. The Statue of Liberty used to be the copper color of a penny. She is green now because the copper metal has
reacted with the air and salt water. This is an example of Oxidation.
7. What are three benefits of soil?
a. Provides a place for animals to live
b. Provides minerals and nutrients for plants
c. Stores water
Part B: Decide what kind of weathering is taking place. Label it M for Mechanical and C for Chemical weathering.
8. A shovel left in the garden begins to rust. C
9. The acids in lichen break down a rock in the desert. C
10. A tree root grows big enough to make a crack in the sidewalk that you trip over on your way home from school.
M
11. Acid rain has fallen in Europe and destroyed many stone buildings. C
12. Waves break up rocks to make sand that is deposited on the beach. M
13. The Colorado River has carved out the Grand Canyon over millions of years. M
Part C: Below is a picture of a crack in a rock. Over the winter, water gets into the crack and freezes and thaws several
times. Draw in the rocks below what happens to the crack over the winter.
This process is called ice wedging. It is a type of Mechanical weathering.
Part D: Three-Way Matching for Soil Conservation (Draw a line from the word, to the correct picture, to the correct
description.)
Helps restore nutrients to the soil by
planting crops between harvests to
replace certain nutrients and prevent
erosion by providing cover from
wind and rain.
Helps prevent erosion by heavy rains
when farmers plow across the slope
of hills so the rows act as a series of
dams instead of a series of rivers.
Cover Crop
Contour Plowing
This soil conservation technique
prevents erosion on steep hills by
heavy rains when farmers change
the fields into smaller, flatter fields
by making “steps” into the hillside.
This soil conservation technique
prevents erosion by providing cover
(leaving old crops behind) to reduce
runoff.
Terracing
No-till farming
Part E: Soil Layers (Identify the correct soil horizons with their descriptions.)
O – This is the “organic” layer of dead plant matter on top of
the soil.
A – This is the layer we call “topsoil.”
It has lots of organic
matter mixed in and is usually darkly colored.
B – Subsoil layer.
There isn’t much organic stuff in here. Only
what is leached down from above.
C – This layer usually has lots of large rocks mixed in with soil
deep underground.
R – This is the bedrock that lies beneath the soil.
In some
places this can be quite near the surface and in others it is very,
very deep.
Part F: Matching/Fill-in-the-blank (Use the word bank to complete each statement correctly.)
Word Bank
Soil Conservation
Humus
Deposition
Erosion
Acid Precipitation
Mechanical
Alluvial Fan
Chemical
Landslide
Creep
Plants
Mudslide
1. Plants help prevent wind erosion of soil by growing their roots deep into the soil.
2. A mole burrowing into the ground, breaking down rock and soil is an example of Mechanical weathering.
3. A Landslide is the sudden and rapid movement of a large amount of material downslope.
4. The extremely slow movement of material downslope is called Creep.
5. Rain, sleet, or snow that contains a high concentration of acids is known as Acid Precipitation.
6. A rapid movement of soil mixed with a lot of water downslope is called Mudslide.
7. Erosion is the process by which wind, water, or gravity transports soil and sediment from one location to
another.
8. Deposition is the process in which material is laid down or dropped.
9. The dark, organic material formed in soil from the decayed remains of plants and animals is called Humus.
10. Lichens forming on rocks and breaking them down with acids is an example of Chemical weathering.
11. Alluvial Fan are fan-shaped deposits that form on dry land.
12. Soil Conversation is a method to maintain the fertility of the soil by protecting the soil from erosion and nutrient
loss.