REVIEWER IN EARTH SCIENCE
(SECOND MONTHLY EXAMINATIONS – FIRST SEM)
➢ Exogenic Processes
- Exogenic Processes include geological phenomena and processes that originate externally to the
Earth’s surface. (Examples: weathering, erosion, transportation, deposition, denudation, etc.)
- Kinds of Exogenic Processes
o Weathering
▪ The physical breakdown and/or chemical alteration of rocks at or near the Earth’s surface.
▪ Classified into:
▪ Mechanical Weathering (disintegration)
• is the breaking up of large rocks into smaller fragments without changing the rock’s
mineral composition.
• Includes naturally-occurring processes that break rocks into smaller pieces.
▪ Frost Wedging
- Occurs in areas where temperature fluctuates above and below the freezing
point.
- Process:
• Water enters through the cracks and empty spaces of rocks
• Ice exerts enormous outward force.
• When ice thaws, water can flow further into the crack.
• Repeat.
▪ Insolation Weathering
- A.k.a. thermal stress weathering
- Expansion and contraction of rock caused by temperature change.
- Exfoliation happens on the outer layers.
▪ Unloading
- Pressure release occurs when overlaying rock is eroded away, causing the outer
rock to expand more than the one below it.
▪ Biological Activity
- Burrowing by animals, growing roots in plants and several human activities,
contribute to mechanical weathering.
- Examples of Biological Activity:
• Animal Weathering – weathering caused by animals. (Example: Burrowing
animals, like earthworms break apart rocks and soil as they tunnel through
them.)
Plant Weathering – is a process that happens when plants grow. (Example:
•
Some plants grow on rocks which results to the breakage of the said rock.)
• Microbial Weathering – microbial organisms release acidic compounds that
get into the rocks and weather it. (Example: Microbial organisms like lichen
which is made up of algae and fungi, live on the surface of rocks. They form
a symbiotic relationship that supports the survival of each other and allows
them to thrive and spread. As a result of this, they release acidic compounds
that get into the rocks and weather it.)
▪ Chemical Weathering
• Decomposes rocks through chemical change.
▪ Oxidation - the reaction of oxygen with iron-bearing minerals in rock
▪ Hydrolysis - occurs when silicate minerals react with water so that the mineral
recombines with the water molecule to form a new mineral.
▪ Carbonation - is the process of mixing water with carbon dioxide to make
carbonic acid
o
- Chemical Weathering VS. Mechanical Weathering
Chemical Weathering Similarities Mechanical Weathering
>> It includes chemicals for rocks to >> Both are gradual and >> It involves external factors for
transform. ongoing transformation of rocks to be broken down into
>> Chemical weathering categories rocks that are exposed in smaller pieces.
of rocks include: the Earth’s surface. These external factors include:
- oxidation ▪ abrasion - frequently
- carbonation happens in the dessert; it is
- hydrolysis a process that includes
>> The transformation occurs only friction by which the upper
when water is mixed with the layer of the rock is removed
chemicals that acid rain delivers or because of exposure to
when rocks form in river banks gets abrasive agents
washed down with the chemicals ▪ exfoliation - occurs when
from nearby certain chemical there’s rapid tectonic
factories. movements; the rock cracks
because of the pressure
and exposes its underlying
layer
▪ freeze and thaw weathering
- this commonly occur in
places with low
temperature; the frozen
land creates large cracks
on the rocks leading it to be
fragmented into so many
different shapes of particles.
- Temperature and Weathering
o Chemical Weathering: Warm temperature and the tropical weather speed up the process of
chemical weathering because these are the ideal conditions that chemical weathering
respond to.
o Mechanical Weathering: Temperature changes can contribute to mechanical weathering in a
process called thermal stress. Changes in temperature cause rock to expand (with heat) and
contract (with cold). As this happens over and over again, the structure of the rock weakens.
- Frost Wedging
o Frost wedging is a form of physical weathering that involves the repeated freezing and thawing
of water in areas with extremely cold weather. When water freezes, it expands.
- Mass Wasting - The mass movement of rocks, soil and regolith.
o Gravity is the main factor along with:
▪ Water Saturation
▪ Over steeping of slopes beyond stable angle
▪ Removal of anchoring vegetation
▪ Ground vibration from earthquakes.
o Types of Mass Wasting:
▪ Rock falls and Debris falls
• Rock falls occur when a piece of rock or a mass of rocks become dislodged and moves
at free fall along a steep cliff.
• Debris falls involves soil regolith, vegetation and rocks
• Talus - accumulated fallen materials
▪ Landslides - Sudden, fast movement of a cohesive mass of soil rock or regolith.
▪ Flows - Refers to slurry flows or granular flows.
• Slurry Flow: Mixture of 20%-40% water.
• Solifluction flows: 1cm/yr.
• Debris flows: 1 m/yr. to 100 m/hr.
• Mudflows: High velocities greater than 1km/hr.
• Granular Flow
▪ Contain 0% to 20% Moisture. Not considered as water-saturated flows.
▪ can be subdivided based on velocities.
• Creep: slow movement of regolith down a slope, as observed in bent trees and fences.
• Earthflows – 1 cm/yr to less than 100 m/hr.
• Grain flows – 9 m/hr. to less than 100 km/hr. (e.g. sand Dunes)
• Debris Avalanche – 100 km/hr.
- Erosion and Transportation - Process of transporting weathered sediments by agents of erosion and
to different places.
o Agents of Erosion
▪ Water
• Splash Erosion
• Sheet Erosion
• Gully Erosion
• Valley Erosion
• Bank Erosion
• Coastline Erosion
• Seaside Cliff Erosion
▪ Glaciers - large, moving mass of ice.
• Plucking: Fractured bedrocks are incorporated into ice.
▪ Wind - carries particles from one place to another.
o Transportation
▪ How are materials transported?
• materials are dissolved in water and carried Solution along by water.
• Suspension – the suspended particles are carried by a medium.
• Traction – Particles move by rolling, sliding and shuffling along eroded surface. Occurs in
all agents.
• Saltation – Particles move from the surface to the medium in quick repeated cycles.
• Deposition – Aggradation or accumulation of weathered sediments to create different
landforms.
• Water and Landforms
▪ Delta – formed when a river loses energy as it flows in to an area of slow-moving
water such as lake or sea.
▪ Alluvial Fan - formed when streams reaches a flat area (piedmont) or gently sloping
plane.
▪ Flood Plain - are formed when silts are deposited on flat surface during flood.
• Glaciers and Landforms
▪ Glacial tills – Unsorted deposits of rock formed directly by the ice.
▪ Moraines - layers of tills
▪ Loess – A sediment chiefly deposit by wind over broad areas.
▪ Sand Dunes – are deposits of coarse materials in shape of hills or ridges.
➢ Endogenic Processes
1. How does endogenic process occur?
- When the ground moves, rock layers at the surface of the Earth are broken, twisted and
shaken. Land is destroyed in many places and created in other places. When the land is shaped
is shaped by Endogenic Forces, we call this Endogenic Processes.
2. What's the difference between endogenic and exogenic process?
- Endogenic Forces are within the Earth's surface. Exogenic are above the Earth's surface.
3. Explain "Continental Drift Theory"
- Continental drift is the theory that the Earth's continents have moved over geologic time
relative to each other, thus appearing to have "drifted" across the ocean bed.
4. How are subduction zones formed?
- When two tectonic plates are converging and one of the plate is oceanic lithosphere a
subduction zone is formed.
5. How do tectonic plates move?
- Plates move because of the intense heat in the Earth's core that causes molten rock in the
mantle layer to move. It moves in a pattern called a convection cell that forms when warm
material rises, cools, and eventually sink down. As the cooled material sinks down, it is warmed
and rises again.
6. Explain convergent plate boundary?
- Convergent Plate Boundaries happen when oceanic and continental plate collide.
7. Explain Divergent Plate Boundary
- Divergent Plate Boundary are tectonic plates that are moving away from each other which
creates a rift valley.
8. How does the Philippine archipelago is formed?
- It is formed through volcanic activity. As volcanoes erupt under water, they start to form land
above the water which is what we call an island.
9. What are the types of tectonic forces?
- There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate
boundaries.
10. What is the difference between folding and faulting?
- A fold can be defined as a bend in a rock that is the response to compressional forces. While
faults form when the stresses overcome the internal strength of the rock resulting in a fracture.
can be defined as a displacement of once connected blocks of rock along a fault plane.
