Geography (Erosion and Weathering) and Algebra (Terminology) Lecture Notes

This set covers geographic processes including erosion, deposition, and types of weathering, as well as fundamental algebraic terminology including polynomials, terms, and coefficients.

Weathering

The breakdown of rock where it remains in place, often occurring due to physical, chemical, or biological forces.

Erosion

A process involving movement where rock and soil particles are moved somewhere else by rivers, sea, or wind.

Deposition

The process where eroded material is deposited over time, building up land features.

Upper Corse

The part of a river characterized by steeper banks and features like water falls.

Lower Corse

The part of a river characterized by gentle banks.

Plunge pool

A feature carved out below a water fall when water hits soft rock and creates a deep hole.

Oxidation

A form of chemical weathering where oxygen interacts with rocks rich in iron, creating a reddish-brown color and causing the rock to crumble.

Physical weathering

The breakdown of rock by physical forces, including frost shattering (freeze-thaw motion) and unloading/exfoliation.

Exfoliation

A process resulting from unloading where igneous rock expands and breaks up in layers, causing cracks.

Chemical weathering

Occurs when chemicals in the air or water react with minerals in the rock, causing the rock mass to weaken or break down.

Carbonic acid

A weak acid formed when carbon dioxide mixes with water; it reacts with calcium carbonate ($CaCO_3$) in rocks like Dolomite and Limestone to make them soluble.

Biological weathering

Weathering that results from the actions of living things.

Acidic rain

Rain contaminated by Sulphur dioxite and moisture from fossil fuels burned in power stations, which erodes limestone and marble.

Algebraic EXPRESSION

A group of terms separated by addition ($+$) or subtraction ($-$) signs.

CONSTANTS

Specific numbers within an algebraic expression that do not change value.

VARIABLES

Letters used in algebra to represent unknown values.

POLYNOMIALS

Expressions where all the variables are in the numerator and have exponents that are positive whole numbers.

MONOMIAL

A polynomial consisting of exactly one term.

BINOMIAL

A polynomial consisting of exactly two terms.

TRINOMIAL

A polynomial consisting of exactly three terms.

LIKE TERMS

Terms that contain identical variable combinations, such as $xyz$, $xzy$, and $zyx$.

DEGREE (Single Variable)

The highest exponent present in a polynomial involving only one variable.

DEGREE (Multi-Variable)

The largest sum of the exponents in any single term of the polynomial.

NUMERICAL COEFFICIENT

The constant (number) part of any term in a polynomial, including the positive or negative sign directly in front of it.