ESS105 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 100% PASS
weathering - ✔✔the disintegration and decomposition of rock at or near Earth's surface
result of exposure to air, moisture, and organic matter
erosion - ✔✔weathered rock particles are picked up and moved by flowing water,
wind, or glacial ice
how do sedimentary rocks form? - ✔✔very fundamentally, they are formed from
sediment
sediment - ✔✔loose, solid particles originating from weathering and erosion of pre-
existing rocks (clay minerals, quartz, fragments of partially weathered rock) or chemical
precipitation from solution, including secretion by organisms in water (dissolved ions)
mechanical weathering - ✔✔disintegration of rock; breaking in into smaller and smaller
pieces
causes of joints - ✔✔1. unloading/sheeting effects
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,2. tectonic forces
3. cooling joints
chemical weathering - ✔✔the process by which rocks break down as a result of
chemical reactions
3 classes of chemical weathering - ✔✔1. solution: dissolving limestone (calcite) by
naturally acidic rain water; forms limestone caves
2. oxidation: rusting of iron-rich minerals
3. hydrolysis: changing feldspar (common minerals) into clay
how do caves form? - ✔✔- most are formed in limestone because it is soluble.
- firstly groundwater dissolves the limestone
- above the water table (where water begins), cave may be dry
- features are widen into cavities and caves
- below water table. water further dissolves the material
chemical bonding on how minerals weather - ✔✔- weak bonds such as calcite are
soluble and can dissolve (ex. calcite)
- strong bonds are much less soluble (ex. quartz)
- most sandstone is less soluble than quartz
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,why is running water important? - ✔✔running water is the most important geologic
agent in eroding on the Earth's surface
it transports and deposits sediment
nearly every landscape shows signs of stream erosion or deposition
types of sedimentary rocks - ✔✔clastic, chemical, organic
clastic sedimentary rocks - ✔✔- most common sedimentary rock type
- formed from cemented sediment grains that come from pre-existing rocks (clay,
quartz, partially weathered rocks)
chemical sedimentary rock - ✔✔sedimentary rock that forms when minerals precipitate
from a solution or settle from a suspension
has crystalline textures
biochemical/organic sedimentary rocks - ✔✔accumulated from the remains of
organisms (which construct their shells from dissolved ions)
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, breccia - ✔✔coarse sedimentary rock consisting of angular fragments; or rock broken
into angular fragments by faulting
forms near steep mountain and debris flow
conglomerate - ✔✔conglomerates have rounded clasts, indicating that the sediments
were transported farther from
their source
form near river channels, alluvial plain, and beaches
sandstone - ✔✔a sedimentary rock consisting of sand consolidated with some cement
(clay or quartz etc.)
formed in sand dunes and rivers
fine-grained clastic rocks - ✔✔siltstone (wind), mudstone (floodplain), shale (lake)
where do silt, clay, and mud accumulate? - ✔✔along shorelines and offshore
- shallow sea or coastal mud flat
- lagoon
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AND ANSWERS 100% PASS
weathering - ✔✔the disintegration and decomposition of rock at or near Earth's surface
result of exposure to air, moisture, and organic matter
erosion - ✔✔weathered rock particles are picked up and moved by flowing water,
wind, or glacial ice
how do sedimentary rocks form? - ✔✔very fundamentally, they are formed from
sediment
sediment - ✔✔loose, solid particles originating from weathering and erosion of pre-
existing rocks (clay minerals, quartz, fragments of partially weathered rock) or chemical
precipitation from solution, including secretion by organisms in water (dissolved ions)
mechanical weathering - ✔✔disintegration of rock; breaking in into smaller and smaller
pieces
causes of joints - ✔✔1. unloading/sheeting effects
100% Pass Guarantee Olivia West, All Rights Reserved © 2025 1
,2. tectonic forces
3. cooling joints
chemical weathering - ✔✔the process by which rocks break down as a result of
chemical reactions
3 classes of chemical weathering - ✔✔1. solution: dissolving limestone (calcite) by
naturally acidic rain water; forms limestone caves
2. oxidation: rusting of iron-rich minerals
3. hydrolysis: changing feldspar (common minerals) into clay
how do caves form? - ✔✔- most are formed in limestone because it is soluble.
- firstly groundwater dissolves the limestone
- above the water table (where water begins), cave may be dry
- features are widen into cavities and caves
- below water table. water further dissolves the material
chemical bonding on how minerals weather - ✔✔- weak bonds such as calcite are
soluble and can dissolve (ex. calcite)
- strong bonds are much less soluble (ex. quartz)
- most sandstone is less soluble than quartz
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,why is running water important? - ✔✔running water is the most important geologic
agent in eroding on the Earth's surface
it transports and deposits sediment
nearly every landscape shows signs of stream erosion or deposition
types of sedimentary rocks - ✔✔clastic, chemical, organic
clastic sedimentary rocks - ✔✔- most common sedimentary rock type
- formed from cemented sediment grains that come from pre-existing rocks (clay,
quartz, partially weathered rocks)
chemical sedimentary rock - ✔✔sedimentary rock that forms when minerals precipitate
from a solution or settle from a suspension
has crystalline textures
biochemical/organic sedimentary rocks - ✔✔accumulated from the remains of
organisms (which construct their shells from dissolved ions)
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, breccia - ✔✔coarse sedimentary rock consisting of angular fragments; or rock broken
into angular fragments by faulting
forms near steep mountain and debris flow
conglomerate - ✔✔conglomerates have rounded clasts, indicating that the sediments
were transported farther from
their source
form near river channels, alluvial plain, and beaches
sandstone - ✔✔a sedimentary rock consisting of sand consolidated with some cement
(clay or quartz etc.)
formed in sand dunes and rivers
fine-grained clastic rocks - ✔✔siltstone (wind), mudstone (floodplain), shale (lake)
where do silt, clay, and mud accumulate? - ✔✔along shorelines and offshore
- shallow sea or coastal mud flat
- lagoon
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