Chapter 1 To 4 Lesson 1 Earth and Life Science

PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
AND THE
ORIGIN OF
THE SOLAR
SYSTEM AND
EXTRASOLAR
PLANETS
CHAPTER 1
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
The scientific study of the natural features of the
Earth's surface, especially in its current aspects,
including land formation, climate, currents, and
distribution of flora and fauna.
FLORA FAUNA
Plant life Animal life
Areas of physical geography include
 Geomorphology
- studies the shape of the Earth's surface and how it came about
Hydrology
-studies the Earth's water
Glaciology
-studies the glaciers and ice sheets
Biogeography
-studies the species, how they are distributed and why
Climatology
-studies the climate
 Pedology
- studies the soils
Palaeogeography
-studies how the continents have moved over time
Coastal geography
-studies how the ocean and land affect each other
Quaternary science
-studies the geography of the last 2.6 million years, including the last
ice age
Landscape ecology
-studies how the landscape affects things like the distribution of
plants and animals
 Geomatics
-in charge of gathering, storing and processing geographic information
– for example, making maps
EARTH
MATERIALS
AND PLATE
TECTONICS(
MINERALS)
CHAPTER 2
MINERALS
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ROCKS
-Minerals are solid substances that are present in nature and

can be made of one element or more elements combined
together (chemical compounds)
-Mineralogists group minerals into families based on their

chemical composition
-Play A Brief Introduction To Minerals

MINERALS
Points to Remember
-5 Criteria to determine minerals-

1.Solid
2.Naturally Occurring
3.Inorganic
4.Specific Composition
5.Definite Structure
CLASSIFICATION OF
MINERALS
NATIVE ELEMENTS
This is the category of the pure. Most minerals are made
up of combinations of chemical elements.
SILICATES
This is the largest group of minerals. Silicates are made
from metals combined with silicon and oxygen. There are
more silicates than all other minerals put together
CLASSIFICATION OF
MINERALS
OXIDES
Oxides form from the combination of a metal with
oxygen. This group ranges from dull ores like bauxite to
gems like rubies and sapphires.
SULFIDES
Sulfides are made of compounds of sulfur usually with a
metal. They tend to be heavy and brittle.
SULFATES
Sulfates are made of compounds of sulfur combined with
metals and oxygen. It is a large group of minerals that
tend to be soft, and translucent
CLASSIFICATION OF
MINERALS
HALIDES
Halides form from halogen elements like chlorine,
bromine, fluorine, and iodine combined with metallic
elements. They are very soft and easily dissolved in water
CARBONATES
Carbonates are a group of minerals made of carbon,
oxygen, and a metallic element.
CLASSIFICATION OF
MINERALS
PHOSPHATES
Phosphates are not as common in occurrence as the other
families of minerals. They are often formed when other
minerals are broken down by weathering. They are often
brightly colored.
MINERALOID
Mineraloid is the term used for those substances
that do not fit neatly into one of these eight classes
WEATHERING
AND
MASS
WASTING
CHAPTER 3
EARTH'S EXTERNAL
PROCESSES
 EROSION
Erosion is the physical removal of material
by mobile agents such as water, wind, ice, or
gravity
EARTH'S EXTERNAL
PROCESSES
WEATHERING
Weathering is the physical disintegration or chemical
alteration of rocks at or near the Earth's surface.
TYPES OF WEATHERING
CHEMICAL WEATHERING
Chemical weathering is caused

by rain water reacting with the
mineral grains in rocks to form
new minerals (clay) and soluble
salts. These reactions occur
particularly when the water is
slightly acidic.
TYPES OF WEATHERING
BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING
Biological weathering is the
weakening and subsequent
disintegration of rock by
plants, animals and microbes.
Growing plant roots can
exert stress or pressure on
rock. Although the process is
physical, the pressure is
exerted by a biological
process (i.e., growing roots).
TYPES OF WEATHERING
MECHANICAL WEATHERING
Mechanical weathering is
the process of breaking big
rocks into little ones. This
process usually happens near
the surface of the planet.
Temperature also affects
the land. The cool nights and
hot days always cause things
to expand and contract. That
movement can cause rocks to
crack and break apart.
TYPES OF MECHANICAL
WEATHERING
FROST WEDGING OR FREEZE-THAW
Water expands by 9 percent when it freezes into ice. As it expands, it exerts up to 4.3
million pounds per square foot of pressure, enough to open cracks and fissures in rocks.
Repeated freezing and thawing allows water to seep deeper into these crevices and
enlarge them. Cracks may also allow entry of roots, agents of biological weathering that
can also pry apart rock.
TYPES OF MECHANICAL
WEATHERING
CRYSTAL FORMATION OR SALT WEDGING
Crystal formation cracks rock in a similar way. Most water contains dissolved salts. When
water in rock fissures evaporates, salt crystals form that, like ice, can force open fissures.
This “salt wedging” tends to be most pronounced in arid regions given the high
evaporation rates; it also occurs along seacoasts.
TYPES OF MECHANICAL
WEATHERING
UNLOADING AND EXFOLIATION
Granitic rocks formed by cooling magma
underground and later exposed by uplift and
erosion may “exfoliate”: The release of pressure
causes strips or sheets of rock to peel away.
Rock once compressed under the weight of
glaciers may also exfoliate due to unloading:
When the glacier finally melts – for example, at
the start of an interglacial period – the rock
expands from the reduction of pressure. This
causes fracturing between the layers parallel to
the Earth’s surface. The top layer breaks apart in
sheets, having no load above it at all. As the rock
below is exposed, it too exfoliates.
TYPES OF MECHANICAL
WEATHERING
THERMAL EXPANSION AND CONTRACTION
Heating causes rock to expand. Cooling
causes it to contract. The resulting cracking
looks similar to frost wedging, though it tends
to take a much longer time. Areas with
extreme swings in daily temperature may see
higher rates of this kind of wear. The moon
has almost no atmosphere and no tectonic
activity to weather the rock, and the
temperature variation between day and night
is 536 degrees F (280 degrees C). Thermal
expansion and contraction may therefore be
the only form of weathering that occurs.
EARTH'S EXTERNAL
PROCESSES
 MASS WASTING
-Mass wasting refers to the downslope movement of
rock,regolith, and soil under the direct influence of
gravity
-Geologic process that often follows weathering
-Combined effects of mass wasting and running water

produce stream valleys
-For mass wasting to occur, there must be a slope
angle
EARTH'S EXTERNAL
PROCESSES
 MASS WASTING
-Most rapid events occur in areas of rugged, geologically
young mountains
-As a landscape ages, less dramatic downslope movements
occur
TYPES OF MASS WASTING
TECTONIC
AND
VOLCANIC
PROCESSES
AND
LANDFORMS
CHAPTER 4

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PHYSICAL

-Minerals are solid substances that are present in nature and

-Mineralogists group minerals into families based on their

-Play A Brief Introduction To Minerals

-5 Criteria to determine minerals-

Chemical weathering is caused

-Combined effects of mass wasting and running water

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