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E.C.S. Ch. 2
Weathering and Soil Formation
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Weathering | Process that breaks down rock and other substances at Earth’s surface due to heat, cold, water, and ice. |
Erosion | The movement of rock particles by wind, water, ice, or gravity. |
Mechanical weathering | A type of weathering in which rock is physically broken into smaller pieces. |
Abrasion | The grinding away of rock by rock particles carried by water, ice, wind, or gravity. |
Ice wedging | Wedges of ice in rocks widen and deepen cracks. |
Chemical weathering | The process that breaks down rock through chemical changes. |
Permeable | A term used to describe a material that is full of tiny, connected air spaces that allow water to seep through it. |
Soil | The loose, weathered material on Earth’s surface in which plants can grow. |
Bedrock | The solid layer of rock beneath the soil. |
Humus | The dark-colored substance that forms as remains from plants and animals decay. |
Loam | Soil that is made up of about equal parts of clay, sand, and silt. |
Soil horizon | A layer of soil that differs in color and texture from the layers above or below it. |
Topsoil | Mixture of humus, clay, and other minerals that forms the crumbly, uppermost layer of soil. |
Subsoil | The layer of soil beneath the topsoil that contains mostly clay and other minerals. |
Litter | The loose layer of dead plant leaves and stems on the surface of the soil. |
Decomposer | An organism that breaks the remains of dead organisms into smaller pieces and digests them with chemicals. |