Question | Answer |
Uniformitaranism | A principal that states that the geologic processes that operate today also operated in the past. |
Erosion | The process of wearing down and carrying away rocks. |
Weathering | The process that breaks down rock and other substance. |
Mechanical Weathering | The type of weather in which rock is physically broken down into smaller pieces. |
Chemical Weathering | The process that breaks down rock through chemical challenges. |
Abrasion | Refers to the wearing away of rock by rock particles carried by water, ice, wind, or gravity. |
Frost Wedging | Wedges of ice in rocks widen and deepen cracks |
Oxidation | Iron combines with oxygen in the presence of water. |
Premeable | A material if 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 | A dark-colored substance that forms as plant and animal remains decay. |
Fertility | A measure of how well the soil supports plant growth. |
Loam | Soil that is made up of about equal parts of clay, sand, and slit. |
pH scale | Measures acidity. |
Soil Horizon | A layer of soil that differs in color, texture, and composition from the layers above or below it. |
Topsoil | A crumbly, dark brown soil that is a mixture of humus, clay, and other minerals. |
Subsoil | Consists if clay and other particles of rock, but little humus. |
Decomposers | The organisms that break the remains of dead organisms into smaller pieces and digest them with chemicals. |
Natural Resource | Anything in the environment that humans use. |
Soil Conservation | The management of soil to limit its destruction. |
Crop Rotation | A farmer plants different crops in a field each year. |
Contour Plowing | Farmers plow their fields along the curves of a slope instead of in straight rows. |
Conservation Plowing | Dead weeds and stalks of the previous year's crop are plowed into the ground to help return soil nutrients, retain moisture, and hold soil in place. |