WEATHERING A process of breaking down of rocks

and other materials on the Earth’s surface.

TYPES OF WEATHERING
MECHANICAL WEATHEING The process of breaking
rocks into smaller pieces but don’t change the chemical make up of the
rocks.
PROCESS:
1. Rocks broken into smaller pieces.
2. Edge are jagged, as weathering continues.
3. They become round.
CAUSES OF MECHANICAL WEATHERING
TEMPERATURE Rocks can be broken apart by changes in
temperature. When the rocks are heated up, the outside of the rock
expand. When the temperature drops, the inside of the rock remains
cool and doesn’t expand.
EXFOLIATION Causes particles to break out.
FROST ACTION Repeated freezing and melting of water,
when water freezes in cracks of rocks, it expands, resulting to larger
cracks.
ORGANIC ACTIVITY Involves plants and animals. ROOT-
PRY, when the root spread out in the crack it causes the rock to be
larger.
GRAVITY Pulls loosen rocks down mountain cliffs in a landslide.
LANDSLIDE, large amount of loose rocks and soil.
ABRASION Wearing away of rocks by solid particles carried by
wind, water, or other forces.

CHEMICAL WEATHERING Chemical make up of the

rocks is changed.
 CAUSES OF CHEMICAL WEATHERING
WATER Most chemical weathering is caused by water. Can form
acids when it mixes with chemicals.
OXIDATION The process in which oxygen chemically
combines with another substance.
CARBONATION Carbon Dioxide + H2O  Carbonic Acid.
When carbonic acid mixes with other substance, carbonation occurs.
SULFURIC ACID SULFURIC OXIDE, by product of the
burning of coal as a source of energy. When sulfuric oxide contacts
with rain, forms sulfuric acid.
PLANT ACID Important in formation of soil. Mosses and
lichens produce weak acids that dissolve some of the minerals in the
rocks they grow on.

EXOGENIC PROCESSES are processes that take place at

or near the earth’s surface that makes the surface wear away.
Exogenic Processes are very destructive, they are responsible for
degradation and sculpting the earth’s surface.
TYPES OF EXOGENIC PROCESS
1. WEATHERING A process of breaking down of rocks and
other materials on the Earth’s surface.
AGENTS OF WEATHERING Water, ice, acids, salts, plants,
animals, and changes in temperature.
1. PHYSICAL WEATHERING happens when rock is physically
broken into smaller pieces.
a. ICE WEDGING ~> H2O seeps in rock, expands, crack rocks
into smaller pieces.
b. RELEASE OF PRESSURE ~> Surface rock erodes, rock
flakes like onion layers.
c. GROWTH OF PLANTS ~> Roots grow into cracks and push
rocks apart.
d. ANIMALS ~> Burrow and push apart rock.
 e. ABRASION ~> Sand and rock carried by wind, water, ice
wears away surface rock when rocks collide. Most common in
windy areas
2. CHEMICAL WEATHERING is the process of breaking down
rock through chemical changes.
a. WATER ~> Water dissolves rock chemically.
b. OXYGEN ~> Rocks that has iron in it mixes with oxygen and
rusts.
c. CARBON DIOXIDE ~> CO2 dissolves in rainwater and
weathers marble and limestone.
d. LIVING ORGANISMS ~> Acids from plants and roots
chemically weather rock.
e. ACID RAIN ~> Air pollution reacts with clouds and falls on
rock as acid rain.
3. BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING, in which living or once-living
organisms contribute to weathering, can be a part of both
processes.

2. EROSION Those rock particles get carried away by wind,

water, ice, gravity.

AGENTS OF EROSION
WATER Erosion by water changes the shape of coastlines. Waves
constantly crash against shores. They pound rocks into pebbles and
reduce pebbles to sand.
WIND Erosion by wind carries dust, sand, and volcanic ash from
one place to another. Wind can sometimes blow sand into towering
dunes.
ICE Erosion by ice can erode the land. In frigid areas and on some
mountaintops, glaciers move slowly downhill and across the land.
GRAVITY Gravity pulls any loose bits down the side of a hill or
mountain. Gravity Erosion is better known as Mass Movement.
3. SEDIMENTATION It is a natural process in which a
material is carried to the bottom of bodies of water and forms to solid.

4. MASS WASTING is the movement of rock, soil and

regolith downward due to the action of gravity.
IT IS TRIGGERED BY THE FOLLOWING FACTORS:
1. OVER-STEEPENED SLOPE Rapid movements are
commonly found in steep slopes while slow movements
are found on gentle slopes.
2. WATER Rainwater adds weight and acts as a lubricant to
weathered material.
3. EARTHQUAKE It is a vibration and also a factor that
triggers mass wasting.
4. VEGETATION REMOVAL The lack of vegetation
cover to hold the loose particles.

TYPE OF MATERIAL
Debris, mud or If soil and regolith dominate.
earth
Rock When a mass of bedrock break.
TYPE OF MOTION
Fall The free fall of detached individual pieces of
any size.
Slide A distinct zone of weakness separating the
slide material from the more stable
underlying material.
Flow Occurs when material moves down slope as a
viscous fluid.

CLASSIFICATION:
SLUMP is a type of mass wasting that results in the sliding of
coherent rock materials along a curved surface.
SOLIFLUCTION is the slow downhill flow of soil.
EARTHFLOW is a downslope viscous flow of fine-grained
materials that have been saturated with water and moves under the
pull of gravity.
MUDFLOW occurs when mud travels down a slope very
quickly.
DEBRIS SLIDE is a type of slide characterized by the chaotic
movement of rocks, soil, and debris mixed with water and/or ice.
DEBRIS FLOW is a moving mass of loose mud, sand, soil,
rock, water and air that travels down a slope under the influence of
gravity.
ROCK FLOW occurs when pieces of rock break loose from a
steep rock face or cliff.
SOIL CREEP is a slow, gradual movement of soil or regolith
downhill over time.
ENDOGENIC PROCESS Processes that is formed or
occurring beneath the surface of the Earth.

MAGMA a mixture of molten rock, minerals and gases. This

mixture is usually made up of a hot liquid base called the melt,
minerals crystallized by the melt, solid rocks incorporated into the
melt from the surrounding confines and dissolved gases. Originates
in the lower part of the Earth’s crust and in the upper portion of
the mantle
known as asthenosphere.

HOW ARE MAGMAS FORMED? The asthenosphere which

is between 100 to 350km deep is so hot that most of the rock is
melted . The melt flows very slowly because it is under intense
pressure. Magma reaches temperatures between 600 degree 140
degree Celsius.

VISCOSITY OF MAGMA
VISCOSITY is the resistance to flow (an antonym for fluidity).
Magma with higher silica content has higher viscosity. Viscosity
increases with increasing silica concentration in the magma. Magma
with low temperature has higher viscosity than those with high
temperature. Viscosity decreases with increasing temperature of the
magma.

WAYS TO GENERATE MAGMA

DECOMPRESSION MELTING involves the upward
movement of the Earth’s mostly solid mantle, this hot material rises to
an area of lower pressure through the process of convection.
TRANSFER OF HEAT Happens when hot, liquid rock
intrudes into the Earth’s crust. As the liquid rock solidifies, it loses this
heat and transfers it to the surrounding crust. This is similar to a hot
fudge poured over cold ice cream.
FLUX MELTING It occurs when water or carbon dioxide
added on rocks these affects the melting point of rock when added
with water beneath the earth it generates magma.

TYPES OF MAGMA
FELSIC This type of magma has viscosity level there has low in
iron but high in potassium and sodium this form makes granite rocks.
INTRMEDIATE This normally found in volcano that erupts,
after the eruption it releases a lava that has high silica and very
viscous/ it commonly produced Andesite Rock.
MAFIC has relatively low silica content but high in iron and
magnesium. This magma has a low gas content and low viscosity.
Mafic magma has high average temperature which contributes to its
low velocity.
ULTRAMAFIC Today our planet is to cool, for ultramafic
magma to form. This is a probably a good thing, since ultramafic
magma would be the hottest and fastest flowing magma.
ROCK DEFORMATION
STRESS the force that could create deformation
on rocks in their
shape and/ volume.
1. LITHOSTATIC STRESS- equal pressure exerted
on it from all directions
2. DIFFERENTIAL STRESS- due to unequal stress due to
tectonic forces.
a. TENSIONAL (STRETCHING)
b. COMPRESSIONAL (SQUEEZING)
c. SHEAR (SLIPPAGE & TRASLATION)
STRAIN ability of a rock material to handle stress
a. ELASTIC DEFORMATION
b. BRITTLE DEFORMATION/ FRACTURE
JOINTS fractures in rocks that show little or no movement at all.
FAULTS are extremely long and deep break or large crack in a
rock
1. DIP-SLIP FAULT (NORMAL FAULT) - rock is mainly in
the vertical direction (sinking and rising).
2. STRIKE-SLIP FAULT - the movement of blocks of rock is
chiefly in the horizontal direction.
3. REVERSE (or THRUST) FAULT - when brittle rocks are
pushed

FOLDS When rocks deform in a ductile manner, instead of fracturing to

form faults or joints, they may bend or fold and the resulting structures are
called folds.
KINDS OF FOLDS
MONOCLINES simplest types of folds

SYNCLINES are folded downward

 ANTICLINE are folded upward

MID OCEAN RIDGES are underwater mountain ranges.

Earth’s longest Mt. ranges. Where SEAFLOOR SPREADING occurs.

SEAFLOOR SPREADING Tectonic plates move away

from each other, the seafloor spreads apart and magma rises to fill the
gap. The process by which oceanic lithosphere is created as older
materials are pushed away.
EVIDENCES OF SEAFLOOR SPREADING:
 New Molten Material
 Magnetic Strips
 Drilling Samples
 The crust increases in age as it moves away from the mid-ocean
ridge.

SUBDUCTION a geological process in which the oceanic

lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the
Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. A smaller Pacific Ocean, few
causes Atlantic Ocean to get larger.

MAJOR TECTONIC PLATES

- North America - Eurasia
- Pacific - Australia
- South America - Antarctic
- Africa

PLATE TECTONICS Theory that Earth’s Lithosphere is divided into

tectonic plates that move around. (Ways Plates are able to move).
Convection – hot materials rise, cold material sinks.
Ridge Push – process by which an oceanic plate slides down the lithosphere-
asthenosphere boundary.
Slab Pull – oceanic lithosphere is denser than the asthenosphere, the edge of the
oceanic plate sinks and pulls the rest of the tectonic plate with it.

OCEAN BASINS The largest depression of land surface on

Earth under an ocean.

EVOLUTION OF OCEAN BASIN

a. Embronic Crystal extension and uplift.
- Features: Rift Valleys
b. Young/Juvenile Subsidence and spreading.
- Features: Narrow seas with parallel coast and a central
depression.
c. Mature-Spreading
- Features: ocean basins with active mid-ocean ridge.
d. Declining Spreading and shrinking.
- Features: numerous island arcs and adjacent trenches around
margins
e. Terminal Shrinking and uplift.
- Features: young mountains.
f. Relict Scar Shrinking and uplift.
- Features: young mountains.

TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF OCEAN BASINS

CONTINENTAL SHELF Shallow gently sloping part of the
continental crust that borders the continents.
CONTINENTAL SLOPE Extends from the continental
shelf. The base is steeply sloping and occurs at a depth of
approximately 2000m that marks the edge of continents.
SUBMARINE CANYON V-shaped canyon that cuts into
the continental slope to a depth of up to 1200m.
CONTINENTAL RISE Created by the merging of
accumulated deposit at the mouth of the many submarine canyons.
ABYSSAL FAN The canyons thick fan shaped sedimentary
deposits.
OCEAN FLOOR Found at the base of the continental rise in
water, ranging from 4000 to 6000 meters deep.

TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARY

CONVERGENT BOUNDARY Two plates move toward

each other.
Kinds of Convergent Plate Boundary
a. Continental – Continental Collisions
two continental plates collide.
b. Oceanic – Oceanic Plate
subducts beneath another oceanic plate.
c. Oceanic – Continental
more dense oceanic plate subducts beneath the more buoyant
continental plate.
DIVERGENT BOUNDARY Two plates move away from
each other.
TRANSFORM FAULT BOUNDARY Plates slide pass
each other.

METAMORPHISM Process of changing the material that

make up the rocks.

FOUR TYPES OF STRESS

1. Compressional – rocks pressed together into itself.
2. Tension – Forces pulling in opposite directions resulting in strain
that stretches and thins rocks.

3. Shear – slippage along planes parallel to imposed stress.

4. Confining – deeply buried rock is pushed down by the weight of
all material above it.
GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE Depicts the timing and
relationships between events that have occurred during the history of
the Earth (and the universe).

- Geologic Time – general reference to long time span that predates

human records.
- Rock Record – refers to the position or sequence of rock layers.
- Strata – sediment that accumulates in layers of rock.

Nicholas Steno One of the earliest to recognize the relationship

between rocks and time.

Steno’s Principles; Superposition, original horizontality, and

lateral continuity, became the foundation of STRATIGRAPHY (a
study of layered rocks).

Relative dating technique were used to establish the correct succession

of rocks.
Abraham Gotlobb Werner – father of German Geology.

DIVIDED ROCK RECORD (oldest to youngest)

 PRIMARY
 SECONDARY
 TERTIARY
 QUARTERNARY

Fossils Preserved remains or traces of organisms from the past

 Fossilization – processes that turns plants or animal remains
eventually to stone.

1. Unaltered Preservation – small organism or part of it is trapped in

amber (hardened plant sap).
2. Permineralization/Petrification
3. Replacement
4. Carbonization or Coalification
5. Recrystallization
6. Authigenic preservation

DETERMINING FOSSIL AGES

Stratigraphy The study of layered rocks.
Biostratigraphy Fossils of species that survived for a relatively
short time can be used to match isolated rocks.

Carbon Dating William “Strata” Smith observed that fossils in

strata of sedimentary rocks succeed each other vertically in a definite
order. Charles Lyell documented the utility of fossils in sectioning
geologic time on the basis of fossils.
Organic Evolution Index Fossils – markers fossils used to
outline periods of geologic time.
Relative Dating Tells the sequence in which events occurred,
chronological order.
LAW OF SUPERPOSITION In an undeformed,
undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rocks, each bed is older than the
one above it and younger than the one below it.
 Original Horizontality – layers of sediment are generally
deposited in a horizontal position.
 Index Fossils – used to determine approximate age.
 Geologic Column – an ideal sequence of rock layers that contains
all the known fossils ad rock formations on Earth arranged from
oldest to youngest.
 Absolute Dating – process of establishing the age of an object by
determining the number of years it has existed.
 Radioactivity – spontaneous decay of certain unstable atomic
nuclei.
 Half-life – amount of time necessary for ½ of the nuclei to decay.
 Radiocarbon Dating – method for determining age by comparing
the amount of Carbon-14 to the amount of Carbon-12.