Weathering & Mass Movement Flashcards

All 8 cards in this deck

What is freeze–thaw (frost shattering) weathering?

Water seeps into cracks, freezes and expands, eventually breaking the rock apart.

What is carbonation (solution) weathering?

Dissolved carbon dioxide in rainwater forms carbonic acid, which reacts with minerals in rocks.

Name the three types of mass movement affecting cliffs in AQA's specification.

Sliding (landslip), slumping and rockfall.

What is slumping?

Saturated soft rock (e.g. boulder clay) moves downwards along a curved slip surface, leaving a rotated, curved cliff face.

True or false? Weathering and mass movement are the same process.

False. Weathering is the breakdown of rock in situ; mass movement is the downhill movement of material under gravity.

What is the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering?

Mechanical weathering breaks rock into pieces without changing what it is made of; chemical weathering breaks rock down by changing its chemical composition.

What is a rockfall?

Pieces of rock break away from a steep cliff face and drop down to its base under gravity, often after weathering has loosened them.

What is sliding (a landslide) at the coast?

A block of rock or soil moves rapidly downslope in one piece along a flat (straight) slip plane.