Download Chapter 2 Vocabulary- Earth`s Changing Surface

Chapter 2 Vocabulary- Earth’s Changing Surface
Section 1
Weathering: the chemical and physical processes that break down rock at Earth’s
surface (pg. 40)
Erosion: the process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity, moves weathered rock
and soil (pg. 41, 67)
Mechanical Weathering: the type of weathering in which rock is physically
broken into smaller pieces (pg. 41)
Ice Wedging: process that splits rock when water seeps into cracks, then freezes
and expands (pg. 42)
Chemical Weathering: the process that breaks down rocks through chemical
changes (pg. 43)
Permeable: characteristic of a material that is full of tiny, connected air spaces
that water can seep through (pg. 45)
Section 2
Soil: the loose, weathered material on Earth’s surface in which plants can grow
(pg. 49)
Bedrock: the solid layer of rock beneath the soil (pg. 49)
Humus: dark-colored organic material in soil (pg. 50)
Loam: rich, fertile, soil that is made up of about equal parts of clay, sand, and silt
(pg. 50)
Soil Horizon: a layer of soil that differs in color and texture from the layers above
or below it (pg. 51)
Topsoil: mixture of humus, clay, and other minerals that forms the crumbly,
topmost layer of soil (pg. 51)
Subsoil: the layer of soil beneath the topsoil that contains mostly clay and other
minerals (pg. 51)
Litter: the loose layer of dead plant leaves and stems on the surface of the soil
(pg. 52)
Decomposers: soil organism that breaks down the remains of organisms and
digests them (pg. 53)
Section 3
Sod: a thick mass of grass roots and soil (pg. 57)
Dust Bowl: the area of the Great Plains where wind erosion caused soil loss
during the 1930s (pg. 59)
Soil Conservation: the management of soil to prevent its destruction (pg. 60)
Contour Plowing: plowing fields along the curves of a slope to prevent soil loss
(pg. 60)
Conservation Plowing: soil conservation method in which the dead stalks from
the previous year’s crop are left in the ground to hold the soil in place (pg. 60)