9.1 Weathering (Regents Earth Science)

The diagram below shows granite bedrock with cracks. Water has seeped into the cracks and frozen. The arrows represent the directions in which the cracks have widened due to weathering. Which statement best describes the physical weathering shown by the diagram?

• Enlargement of the cracks occurs because water expands when it freezes.

• This type of weathering occurs only in bedrock composed of granite.

• The cracks become wider because of chemical reactions between water and the rock.

• This type of weathering is common in regions of primarily warm and humid climates.

The composition of residual soil is most likely determined by the

• amount of average annual insolation

• type of bedrock material

• range of yearly temperature extremes

• amount of potential evapotranspiration

Which property of water makes frost action a common and effective form of weathering?

• Water dissolves many earth materials.

• Water expands when it freezes.

• Water cools the surroundings when it evaporates

• Water loses 334 Joules of heat per gram when it freezes.

Which event is an example of chemical weathering?

• rocks falling off the face of a steep cliff

• feldspar in granite being crushed into clay-sized particles

• water freezing in cracks in a roadside outcrop

• acid rain reacting with limestone bedrock

Chemical weathering occurs most rapidly in climates which are

• moist and warm

• moist and cold

• dry and cold

• dry and warm

Which is the best example of physical weathering?

• the cracking of rock caused by the freezing and thawing of water

• the transportation of sediment in a stream

•  the reaction of limestone with acid rainwater

• the formation of a sandbar along the side of a stream

The diagram below shows the stump of a tree whose root grew into a small crack in bedrock and split the rock apart. The action of the root splitting the bedrock is an example of

• chemical weathering

   

• deposition

• erosion

• physical weathering

The photograph below shows a steep-sided rock formation that is over 100 meters high. This landscape feature is located in an arid region. What would happen to this landscape feature if the climate became more humid?

• ess weathering and erosion, producing a more rounded landscape feature

• less weathering and erosion, producing a more angular landscape feature

• more weathering and erosion, producing a more rounded landscape feature

• more weathering and erosion, producing a more angular landscape feature

This graph shows the effect that average yearly precipitation and temperature have on the type of weathering that will occur in a particular region. Which type of weathering is most common where the average yearly temperature is 5°C and the average yearly precipitation is 45 cm?

• moderate chemical weathering

• very slight weathering

• moderate chemical weathering with frost action

• slight frost action

This graph shows the effect that average yearly precipitation and temperature have on the type of weathering that will occur in a particular region. The amount of chemical weathering will increase if...

• air temperature decreases and precipitation decreases

• air temperature decreases and precipitation increases

• air temperature increases and precipitation decreases

• air temperature increases and precipitation increases