Name:
Weathering Questions – Section 1
Weathering includes mechanical weathering and chemical weathering. Mechanical weathering is
any process that breaks up rock without changing its chemical composition. Chemical weathering is
any process in which water, air, or other substances react with the minerals in the rock and change
the chemical composition of the rock.
Decide if the following descriptions are examples of mechanical weathering or chemical weathering.
Write an M (mechanical) or C (chemical) on the line in front of each statement to indicate which
kind of weathering is being described.
_____1. Mosses growing on the surface of rocks, producing pits in the rocks
_____2. The wedging of tree roots along natural joints in granite outcrops
_____3. Limestone dissolved by carbonic acid
_____4. The oxidation of minerals that contain iron
_____5. Repeated freezing and thawing of water creating larger cracks in rock
_____6. The action of water, salt, and air on iron in rocks
_____7. Acids from plant roots which dissolves minerals causing rocks to break down
_____8. Formation of potholes in streets during severe winters
_____9. Lifted sections of sidewalk along tree-lined streets
_____10. A large rock falling from a cliff and then breaking
_____11. Feldspar mixed with water, producing clay minerals
_____12. Rocks that have been carried by streams and have become smaller and more rounded
_____13. Decaying plants dissolving some of the minerals in rocks
_____14. Tree roots cracking the concrete foundation of a house
Matching:
Match the terms to their definitions. Write the proper letter in front of each definition.
____15. Physical weathering caused by the action of freezing water
A. chemical
____16. Physical weathering caused by roots.
B. weathering
____17. When carbon dioxide and water combine chemically
C. root wedging
____18. Type of weathering without change in chemical composition
D. carbonic acid
____19. Type of weathering with a change in chemical composition
E. leaching
____20. Process in which minerals are dissolved in water and carried downward F. physical
____21. The breaking down of rocks
G. frost wedging
Multiple Choice:
Write the letter of the term that best completes each statement on the line in front of the number.
____22. Soil is a mixture of weathered rock and ____.
a. sand
b. decayed organic matter
c. metal
d. minerals
____23. The layer of soil that contains organisms and organic matter is called the ____ horizon.
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
____24. All of the following cause mechanical weathering except ___.
a. ice
b. tree roots
c. water
d. moss
____25. Soil generally contains about 50 percent rocks and minerals and about 50 percent
a. clay
c. bacteria
b. air, water, and organic matter
d. water and oxygen
____26. When livestock eat all the grass on the land, the land is said to be ____.
a. overgrazed
b. leached
c. weathered
d. rotated
____27. The organic matter in humus can be made of___.
a. dead worms
b. dead insects
c. twigs
d. all of these
____28. How fast weathering occurs depends on the _____ of an area.
a. oxygen
b. climate
c. water
d. soil
____29. The difference between mechanical and chemical weathering
a. the length of time each takes to break up a rock
b. that each occurs only in certain parts of the world
c. the way they affect the composition of a rock
d. that only chemical weathering involves water
Short Answer Questions:
Write the answer to this question in the space provided.
30. If all other factors are equal, how rapidly would a massive body of rock weather compared to
the same amount of severely broken up rock? Why?
Name:
Erosion Questions – Section 2
Matching:
Match the terms to their definitions. Write the proper letter in front of each definition.
_____1. The low, flat part of a valley
A. runoff
_____2. The changing of natural water flow by people
B. meander
_____3. Water that flows over Earth's surface
C. cave
_____4. Can dissolve limestone when mixed with water
D. watershed
_____5. Land area drained by a river system
E. floodplain
_____6. A curve in a stream's channel
F. carbonic acid
_____7. Created in limestone by carbonic acid
G. water diversion
Matching:
Match the terms to their definitions. Write the proper letter in front of each definition.
_____8. Streams that supply a mainstream
A. intermittent
_____9. Streams that do not flow year around
B. oxbow lake
_____10. Lowest level to which a stream can erode
C. base level
_____11. Sea level
D. tributaries
_____12. Triangular shaped deposits that form at the mouth of a river
E. delta
_____13. Deposits that are made along the banks of a river when it overflows
F. ultimate base level
_____14. Deposit made along the inside bank of a river
G. sandbars
_____15. A vertical drop in the elevation of a river or stream
H. meanders
_____16. Curves in a river
I. levees
_____17. Created by a cutoff meander
J. waterfall
Matching:
Match the terms to their definitions. Write the proper letter in front of each definition.
_____18. When gravity causes materials to move down hill
A. creep
_____19. Layers slipping as one large mass due to a weakening of underlying layers
B. mudflow
_____20. Sediments slowly moving down a hill
C. rockslide
_____21. A thick mixture of sediments and water that flows down slope
_____22. Large blocks of rock break loose from steep slopes and tumble
quickly to the bottom
D. mass movement
E. slump
Matching:
Match the terms to their definitions. Write the proper letter in front of each definition.
_____23. Type of erosion that begins when a small stream forms during heavy rain
A. deposition
_____24. Process that moves weathered sediments from one location to another
B. dunes
_____25. Tightly packed deposits of fine windblown particles
C. loess
_____26. The dropping of eroded sediments
D. deflation
_____27. Erosion that can evolve from rill erosion
E. abrasion
_____28. Wind erosion of small-sized sediments
F. rill erosion
_____29. Deposit formed when windblown sediments pile up behind an obstacle
G. sheet erosion
_____30. Water erosion outside of a stream channel
H. gully erosion
_____31. The polishing and pitting of rocks and sediments by windblown sediments
I. erosion
Multiple Choice:
Write the letter of the term that best completes each statement on the line in front of the number.
_____32. A ____is a mass movement that occurs when underlying material is weakened and can no
longer support material on it
a. till
b. slump
c. mudslide
d. rill
_____33. If a stream frequently flows in the same path, rill erosion can evolve into _____.
a. sheet erosion
b. creep
c. gully erosion
d. outwash
_____34. The process that moves weathered sediments from one place to another is ____.
a. mass movement
b. erosion
c. abrasion
d. deposition
_____35. All of the following are mass movements except ____.
a. valley glaciers
b. creep
c. rockslides
d. mudflows
_____36. The dropping of sediments by any agent of erosion is called ___.
a. cirque
b. outwash
c. deposition
d. deflation
_____37. Rill, gully, and sheet erosion are all caused by _____.
a. gravity
b. glaciers
c. wind
d. water
_____38. When wind blows sediment against an obstacle, the buildup of the sediment results in the
formation of_____.
a. a dune
b. till
c. an esker
d. loess
_____39. A(n) _____ is an alluvial fan that forms when sediment is deposited as river water empties into
a lake, a gulf, or an ocean.
a. esker
b. cirque
c. channel
d. delta
_____40. One way that sheet erosion differs from gully and rill erosion is that it doesn't flow_____.
a. downhill
b. in a channel
c. in a valley
d. until after it rains
_____41. One way that people cause greater erosion is by ___.
a. building terraces
b. removing plants
c. planting grass
d. building walls
Application Questions: Write in the best choice for each statement on the line in front of
each number. Be sure to use the proper choices as given for each section.
Choose between E and A
_____42. Where a cut bank forms
_____43. Where water flows fastest
_____44. Where water flows slowest
_____45. Where erosion takes place
_____46. Where deposition takes place
Choose between A, B, C, D and E
_____47. Indicate the safest place to build a house.
_____48. Indicate the point where you would most likely find the greatest stream velocity.
_____49.&____ 50. Indicate two points where you would expect to find deposition taking place.
_____51. Indicate where the delta is forming.
Short Answer Question: Write the answer to this question in the space provided.
52. What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Name:
Glacier Questions – Section 3
Matching:
Match the terms to their definitions. Write the proper letter in front of each definition.
A. glacial grooves
B. glacier
C. outwash
D. continental glaciers
E. till
F. striations
G. albedo effect
H. moraines
I. valley glaciers
J. glacial deposition
_____1. Till deposited in front and along the sides of a glacier forming a ridge.
_____2. Deposits from a glacier’s melted ice.
_____3. Gouges left behind on bedrock from the bottom material in a glacier.
_____4. Very large striations.
____ 5. Measure of reflectivity of light and heat from the surface of the Earth.
____ 6. Glaciers located in mountainous areas.
____ 7. Glaciers found near the Earth's polar regions.
____ 8. A moving mass of ice and snow.
____9. Deposit of different-sized sediments from glacial ice and snow.
____10. Till and outwash are both examples of ___.
Short Answer Questions:
11. What are the four agents of erosion? Circle the one that is most common to
Baraboo today.
A.
B.
C.
D.
Over>>
12. What three conditions are necessary for the start of an ice age?
A.
B.
C.
13. Give three examples of how glaciers affected Wisconsin during the last ice age.
A.
B.
C.
14. List two ways how today’s local economy is tied to past glaciations of
Wisconsin.
A.
B.