4.2 Sedimentary Rocks

Vocabulary flashcards covering the properties, classification, and formation processes of sedimentary rocks as described in the Chapter 4 Earth science notes.

Sedimentary rocks

One of the three groups of rock, typically made up of separate grains and characterized by being porous and soft.

Igneous rocks

One of the three main groups of rock types classified by scientists.

Metamorphic rocks

One of the three main groups of rock types classified by scientists.

Porous

A property of rocks where there are gaps between grains that air or water can get into.

Weathering

The process that breaks up all types of rock into smaller pieces called sediments without moving them away from the original rock.

Sediment

Smaller pieces of rock created by the process of weathering.

Physical weathering

Weathering that happens because of temperature changes, such as freeze-thaw weathering.

Freeze-thaw weathering

A type of physical weathering where water freezes in a crack, expands as ice, and eventually breaks the rock.

Chemical weathering

Weathering that occurs when acids in rain react with substances in the rock.

Biological weathering

Weathering that happens when plants and animals break up rocks.

Erosion

The combined process of breaking rock into sediments and their movement away from the original rock.

Transport

Processes involving water, ice, wind, and gravity that move sediments far from the original rock.

Deposition

The stage where sediments stop moving and settle in one place, often in layers of different types.

Compaction

A stage in making sedimentary rock where the weight of sediments above squashes together the sediments below.

Cementation

A stage in making sedimentary rock where another substance sticks the sediments together.