Rocks, Minerals, Weathering, Erosion, and Weather

Vocabulary flashcards about Rocks, Minerals, Weathering, Erosion, and Weather

Igneous Rocks

Rocks that form from the cooling of magma and lava.

Sedimentary Rocks

Rocks that form from the compaction and cementation of sediments.

Metamorphic Rocks

Rocks that form from extreme heat and pressure.

Granite

A coarse-grained igneous rock.

Basalt

A fine-grained igneous rock.

Obsidian

A glassy igneous rock.

Pumice

A vesicular igneous rock.

Granite

Igneous rock with a felsic composition.

Obsidian

Igneous rock with a mafic composition.

Granite

Igneous rock considered to be intrusive.

Pumice

Igneous rock considered to be extrusive.

Gneiss

A foliated metamorphic rock

Marble

A nonfoliated metamorphic rock.

Clastic

Sedimentary rock formed from sediments compacted and cemented together.

Chemical

Sedimentary rock formed from minerals precipitating out of a solution.

Slump

Movement of a large block of soil or rock downhill in one piece.

Ice wedging

Common type of mechanical weathering that occurs in cold climates.

Vesicular

Texture of Pumice

Coarse

The grain size of Granite

Sedimentary

Type of Shale

Foliated

Texture of Gneiss

Fractured

Texture of Obsidian

Mineral

Naturally occurring, inorganic solid with specific organic composition and definite crystalline structure.

Silicates

Composed of silica and oxygen + one or more of another element

Carbonates

Composed of one or more metallic elements with carbonated compounds

Oxides

Compounds of oxygen and a metal.

Sulfides

Combined with sulfur and one or more elements.

Sulfates

Composed of elements that have sulfate compounds

Halides

Made of chloride or fluoride along with calcium, sodium or potassium

Native elements

Made of 1 element

Weathering

The process of breaking down rocks into sediments.

Mechanical weathering

Breaking down rocks into smaller pieces (sediments)

Erosion

Movement of rocks form one place to another

Chemical weathering

Breaking down rocks and changing the chemical composition of the rock

Porosity

Amount of open space in rock.

Permeability

Ease water passes through porous material

Evaporation

Change from liquid to gas.

Precipitation

Water that falls from atmosphere

Transpiration

Evaporation from plants

Runoff

Water that travels over the ground surface

Tributary

A group of streams that contribute to another stream

Watershed

Area all rain that falls flow to the same destination

Floodplain

Area of a river valley next to a channel

Sediment

Solids particles that are transported and deposited

Angle of repose

Maxim slope or angle at which lose material remains

Meander

A stream with a channel that curves on a wide floodplain

Oxbow lake

Crescent shaped body of water.

Mass movement

The downslope movement of soil sediment or rock

Longshore drift

The zigzag motion of sediments caused by swash and backwash of waves

Humidity

The amount of water vapor in the air.

Dew point

Temperature at which air is saturated.

Sublimation

Ice changing directly into water vapor.

Stratus

Clouds that form in sheets.

Cumulus

Puffy clouds

Cirrus

Clouds made of ice crystals

Cumulonimbus

Clouds that produce thunderstorms

Nimbostratus

Clouds that produce long, steady rain.

Cyclones

Associated with low pressure.

Anticyclones

Associated with high pressure.