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    Lesson 8 - Weathering

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    Sharlaine Tandingan
    This document discusses types of chemical weathering, including dissolution, hydrolysis, and biological weathering. Hydrolysis is described in detail as the process by which hydrogen ions in water attack and replace potassium ions in potassium feldspar, a common mineral in granite. This causes the feldspar to break down into clay minerals and releases nutrients like potassium and silica. Quartz is more resistant to chemical weathering and remains intact while the feldspar decomposes.

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    Lesson 8 - Weathering

    Uploaded by

    Sharlaine Tandingan
    18 views5 pages
    This document discusses types of chemical weathering, including dissolution, hydrolysis, and biological weathering. Hydrolysis is described in detail as the process by which hydrogen ions in water attack and replace potassium ions in potassium feldspar, a common mineral in granite. This causes the feldspar to break down into clay minerals and releases nutrients like potassium and silica. Quartz is more resistant to chemical weathering and remains intact while the feldspar decomposes.

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    Lesson 8 _ Weathering

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    This document discusses types of chemical weathering, including dissolution, hydrolysis, and biological weathering. Hydrolysis is described in detail as the process by which hydrogen ions in water attack and replace potassium ions in potassium feldspar, a common mineral in granite. This causes the feldspar to break down into clay minerals and releases nutrients like potassium and silica. Quartz is more resistant to chemical weathering and remains intact while the feldspar decomposes.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    18 views5 pages

    Lesson 8 - Weathering

    Uploaded by

    Sharlaine Tandingan
    This document discusses types of chemical weathering, including dissolution, hydrolysis, and biological weathering. Hydrolysis is described in detail as the process by which hydrogen ions in water attack and replace potassium ions in potassium feldspar, a common mineral in granite. This causes the feldspar to break down into clay minerals and releases nutrients like potassium and silica. Quartz is more resistant to chemical weathering and remains intact while the feldspar decomposes.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 5

    School notes 2nd quarter subjects ESCI

    Lesson 8 : Weathering
    What is Weathering?

    types of weathering:
    M echanical Weathering
    Chemical Weathering
    Chemical weathering ↑
    involves the complex processes that alter the internal structures of minerals by removing
    and/ or adding elements.
    During this transformation, the original rock decomposes into substances that are stable in
    the surface environment.
    Consequently, the products of chemical weathering will remain essentially unchanged as
    long as they remain in an environment similar to the one in which they formed.
    A. DISSOLUTION

    B. HYDROLYSIS
    W ater ← changes the chemical composition and size of minerals in rock
    Rocks ← become less resistant to weathering.
    Process of Hydrolysis: ↕
    To illustrate how some rock rich in silicate minerals chemically weathers when attacked
    by carbonic acid ,
    we will consider the weathering of granite, an abundant continental rock.
    Recall that granite consists mainly ofquartz and potassium feldspar.
    The weathering of the potassium feldspar component of granite takes place.
    In this reaction, the hydrogen ions (H1) attack and replace potassium ions (K1) in the
    feldspar structure, thereby disrupting the crystalline network.
    Once removed, the potassium is available as a nutrient for plants or becomes the soluble
    salt potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), which may be incorporated into other minerals or
    carried to the ocean in dissolved form by groundwater and streams.
    The most abundant products of the chemical breakdown of feldspar are residual clay
    minerals. Clay minerals are the end product of weathering and are very stable under surface
    conditions. Consequently, clay minerals make up a high percentage of the inorganic material
    in soils. Moreover, the most abundant sedimentary rock, shale, contains a high proportion of
    clay minerals.
    In addition to the formation of clay minerals during this reaction, some silica is removed from
    the feldspar structure and is carried away by groundwater. This dissolved silica will
    eventually precipitate to produce nodules of chert or flint, fill in the pore spaces between
    sediment grains, or be carried to the ocean, where microscopic animals will remove it to build
    hard silica shells.
    To summarize, the weathering of potassium feldspar generates a residual clay mineral, a
    soluble salt (potassium bicarbonate), and some silica that enters into solution.
    Quartz, the other main component of granite, is very resistant to chemical weathering; it
    remains substantially unaltered when attacked by weakly acidic solutions. As a result, when
    granite weathers, the feldspar crystals dull and slowly turn to clay, releasing the once
    interlocked quartz grains, which still retain their fresh, glassy appearance. Although some
    quartz remains in the soil, much is transported to the sea or to other sites of deposition,
    where it becomes the main constituent of such features as sandy beaches and sand dunes.
    In time it may become lithified to form the sedimentary rock sandstone.
    F. BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING

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