LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

QUARTER II/ SEMESTER I

Name:_______________________________________________ Score:_______

Grade & Section _________________________Subject: EARTH SCIENCE

Name of Teacher: GAYLORD BRENT R. RABANG Date: _____________

I. Title: Weathering of Rocks

II. Type of Activity: Concept notes with formative activities

LAS for summative assessment ( Written Work Performance Task)

III. MELCs: Describe how rocks undergo weathering (S11ES-IIa-22)

IV. Learning Objective/s: Determine the types of weathering and causes

Define erosion, transport and deposition.
Understand mass wasting and its causing factors
V. Reference/s
For Print Material/s:

Olivar III, J. T. Rodolfo, R. S. & Cabria, H. Exploring Life Through Science Series-
Earth Science, pp. 105-119.
Religioso, T. F.& Vengco, L. G., Discovering Earth and Solar System, pp. 116-124.
Thompson, G. R. & Turk, J., Introduction to Earth Science, pp. 207-213

For Online Resource/s:

Soil Management: Soil for life.. Retrieved https://learning.edx.org/course/course-

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Concept notes with formative activities

Weathering: On-site breakdown of rock and its eventual transformation into

sediments. They accumulate where they form. However, loose soil and weathered
materials are easily carried by wind and rain.

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 (A famous view in Kapurpurawan Rock
Formation, Burgos, Ilocos Norte, which shows
weathering through wind)
Weathering occurs by both mechanical and
chemical processes.
Mechanical Weathering: Physical breakdown of
rock into unconnected grains or chunks without
altering its chemical composition. They are not
different with their parent rock except they are
smaller.
Pressure-release fracturing
To some igneous and metamorphic rocks form deep down the surface. In a case
of a granitic pluton solidifies from magma with a depth of 15 kilometers which
is 5000 times more than
the earth’s surface
pressure. An uplift of the
granite can be expected
by a millennia and form
a mountain range. After
the granite rises and
cools the overlying rock
and sediment may then
erode, thus decreasing
the pressure further.
When the pressure
diminishes, the rock expands. As a result, natural cracks and joints are
formed and breaks the rock in rectangular blocks or irregular chunks or onion-
like sheets.
Intrusive Rocks like GRANITE usually split into onion-like sheets parallel to the
surface in a process called EXFOLIATION.

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 • Frost Wedging (Temperate Regions)
• Water accumulates in a crack and then
freezes, the ice expands and
wedges the rock apart. In some
temperate countries who during
spring and fall, the rate of frost
wedging maybe fast. ice forms at
night and melts the next morning.
So mountaineers try to hike by early
morning before ice melts. A pile of loose angular rock debris from frost
wedging is called talus
Abrasion
Rocks, grains of sand, and silt collide with one another when currents or waves carry
them along a stream or beach. During these collisions, their sharp edges and
corners wear away and the particles become rounded. It is a mechanical wearing of
rocks by friction and impact.
• Root wedging
If soil collects in bedrock, a seed may fall there and sprout. The roots work
their way into the crack, expand and may eventually widen the crack.
• Salt wedging (crystallization of salt)
On deserts or coastal areas, salt solutions from groundwater or from sea
spray can accumulate in the pore spaces and fractures of rocks. When the
salt crystallizes, it pushes apart the surrounding grins and weakens the rock,
causing it to disintegrate when exposed to wind or rain.
• Thermal Expansion
Due to exposure extremely high temperature, the outer layer of a rock
expands due to baking. An example of this event could be a forest fire. When
it cools, the outer layer contracts, causing the surface to break-off into sheets.
Other means of weathering:
Searching animals also can push open cracks and move rock fragments.
Digging and blasting (human-caused) significantly contribute to physical
weathering.

Chemical Weathering
Occurs when there are chemical changes in at least some of the components of the
rock.
DISSOLUTION

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Minerals dissolve readily in water but others do not. Dissolution happens when a
crystal mineral dissolves in water and form a solution. NaCl (Halite) dissolves rapidly
and completely in water that it is rare in moist and natural environment.
to understand how
water dissolves a
mineral, think of an
atom on the surface
of a crystal. It is held
in place because it is
attracted to the other
atoms in the crystal
by electric forces
called chemical bonds. At the same time the electrical attractions to the outside
environment are pulling away from the crystal. The result is like a tug-of-war. If the
bonds between the atom and the crystals are stronger than the attraction of the atom
to its outside environment, the crystals remain intact. They pull atom away from
crystal and the mineral dissolves.
Rocks and minerals dissolve more rapidly when water is acidic or basic. Limestones
contain calcite (CaCO3). Calcite barely
dissolves in pure water but is quite
soluble to acid. Carbon dioxide could be
formed (seen in bubbles) when a strong
acid gets attached to calcite.
Raindrops is slightly acidic as
atmospheric carbon dissolves. Also, air
pollution could increase ph level of
rainwater. Thus water (acidic or basic)-
dissolves ions from soil and bedrock and
carries the dissolved materials awat.
Calcite (CaCO3) dissolves rapidly in
acidic water like rain Ground water also dissolves rock to produce
Spectacular caverns in limestones.

HYDROLYSIS
Water reacts with one minerals, breaks them down, and
form a new mineral that has water as part of its crystal
structure. Feldspar, the most common rock-forming
mineral, weathers through hydrolysis. When granite
weathers, the feldspar and other minerals decompose to
form clay but the unaltered quartz grains fall free from
the rocks. Hydrolysis has so deeply weathered some
granites that quartz grains can be pried out with a

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fingernail; at depths of several meters. The presence of sand-like granules in a
weathered rock is a sign of hydrolysis weathering.
Hydrolysis takes place when acid rain reacts with rock-forming minerals such as
feldspar to produce clay and salts that are removed in solution.

OXIDATION
Many elements react with atmospheric oxygen O2.
Reaction of oxygen with mineral in the rock, form
oxides. Usually happens to iron-bearing rocks.
Rusting is an example of a more general
weathering process.
Many valuable metals such as iron, copper, lead,
and zinc occur as sulfide minerals in ore deposits.
When they oxidize during weathering, the sulfur
reacts to form sulfuric acid, a strong acid. The
sulfuric acid washes into streams and ground
water. Where it may harm aquatic organisms.
Many natural ore deposits generate

Biological weathering
Occurs in roots of plants.
When fungi and lichens
secrete organic acids that
dissolve minerals and the
nutrients taken in by these
organisms.

EROSION
Erosion is the separation and removal of weathered and unweathered rocks
and soil from its substrate due to gravity or transporting agents like wind, ice or
water. Agents of erosion may carry the weathered materials in great distances and
finally deposit it as layers of sediment at Earth’s surface.
Weathering decomposes bedrock, and plants add organic material to the regolith to
create soil at Earth’s surface. However, soil does not accumulate and thicken
throughout geologic time. If it did, Earth would be covered by a bunch of soil

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hundreds or thousands of meters thick, and rocks would not exist at Earth’s surface.
Instead, interactions with flowing water, wind, and glaciers erode soil as it forms.
Some eroded materials are also influenced by gravity. All forms of erosion combine
to remove soil about as fast as it forms. For this reason, soil is usually only a few
thick or less in most parts of the world. As soil erodes, opens the journey of these
materials to lead to streambed, a sand dune, a lakebed which are all temporary
stops. Eventually, they erode again and are carried downhill and finally they are
deposited where the land meets the sea. Some accumulates on deltas, and coastal
marine currents redistribute some of it along the shore. Eventually, younger
sediment may bury older layers until they become lithified to for sedimentary rocks.
Transport is the process by which sediments are moved along from the source
to where they are deposited
Wind erosion commonly occurs in flat, bare areas, or dry, sandy and loose soils. It
detaches soil particles and transports them by wind. Sandstorms could transport lots
of sediments for hundreds of kilometers. This could damage the land and natural
vegetation by removing soil from one place and depositing it in another area such as
farmland or built-up areas. It results to soil loss, dryness, and deterioration of soil
structure, soil nutrient productivity losses and air pollution. Paoay and Laoag sand
dunes are formed through this process.
Glaciers shows evidence of movement due to gravity. Glaciers have enormous
erosive power. As rocks move over a rock, it acts like a bulldozer; the rocks at the
surface are scraped-off and grinded against the mixture of ice and rocks. It moves
slowly but erodes downward rapidly, forming U-shaped valleys. This erosion process
is dominant in Polar Regions and in high altitude mountains.
Water IS THE MOST COMMON AGENT of erosion. Millions of tons of sediment is
picked-up and transported everyday along rivers, coasts and in deep oceans around
the world. Sediments move along in four ways:
Traction: Rolling or Dragging of large grains aided by push or large drains
Saltation: Bouncing of sand grains as they are picked-up, carried along and dropped
repeatedly
Suspension: Movement of fine particles like silt and clay
Solution: Movement of soluble minerals (salts)

Before rivers are tributaries (V-shaped)

found in elevated areas as mountain
which is characterized to have strong
erosive power.
While in gentler and wider valleys (U
shaped), the sediments transported get
smaller and smoother.

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For lowlands, rivers form meanders and form very wide floodplains

As river enters the sea, it separates into

branches called distributary channels

It deposits most of its sediments forming TIDAL FLATS

Coastal Erosion is primarily caused by wave

action forming cliffs and arches

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TIDAL CURRENT can also move sediments towards the ocean

MASS WASTING
Downslope movement of rocks, soil, or any earth material, primarily due to gravity.
The word landslide is a general term of mass wasting and for thee landforms created
by mass wasting. Although gravity acts constantly on all slopes, the strength of rock
and soil usually hold the slope in place. In some places, however, natural processes
or human activity may destabilize a slope and cause mass wasting. For example, a
stream can erode the base of a hillside, undercutting it until it slides. Rain, melting
snow, or a leaking irrigation ditch can add weight and lubricate soil, causing it to slide
downslope. Mass wasting occurs naturally in a hilly or mountainous terrain. Steep
slopes are especially vulnerable, and landslides scars are common in the mountains.
Controlling factors in mass wasting
a. Slope Angle: A cardboard and an eraser above it, what happens to the erase if
we increase the tilt of the board?
Components:
1. Component of gravity perpendicular
to the slope which helps hold the object
in place
2. Component of gravity parallel to the
slope which causes shear stress and
helps move objects downslope
As the slope increase, the slope-parallel
component increases while the slope
perpendicular component decreases. Thus the tendency to slide down the slope
becomes greater. All forces resisting movement downslope can be grouped under
the term shear strength. This is controlled by frictional resistance and cohesion of

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particles in an object, amount of pore pressure of water, and anchoring effect of plant
roots. When shear stress > shear strength, downslope movement occurs
b. Role of water.
1. Water has the
ability to change the
angle of repose (the
steepest slope at

which a pile of
unconsolidated
grains remain
stable). To
demonstrate this
concept, you can
build a sand hill using dry, damp, and water-saturated sand by flipping a paper cup
full of the sand material upside down on a paper plate. Note that dry, unconsolidated
grains will form a pile with slope angle determined by its angle of repose. For slightly
wet sand, a high angle of repose will be observed while a very low angle of repose
will be observed for water-saturated sand. Why is this so.? This is due to surface
tension that holds the grains together and helps them stick more than they do when
they are dry. The opposite happens for sand with too much water. In saturated sand,
all the pore spaces are filled with water eliminating grain to grain contact. Water in
the interconnected pores exerts pressure which then reduces the shearing force
between the particles. Thus the angle of repose is also reduced.
2. Addition of water from rainfall or snowmelt adds weight to the slope.
3. Water can reduce the friction along a sliding surface
c. Presence of clays.
1. Expansive and hydrocompacting soils – contain a high proportion of smectite or
montmorillonite which expand when wet and shrink when they dry out,
2. Sensitive soils – clays in some soils rearrange themselves after dissolution of salts
in the pore spaces. Clay minerals line up with one another and the pore space is
reduced.
3. Quick clays – water-saturated clays that spontaneously liquefy when disturbed
d. Weak materials and structures – become slippage surfaces if weight is added or
support is removed (bedding planes, weak layers, joints and fractures, foliation
planes).
Classifying mass wasting processes.
A. Slope failures- sudden failure of the slope resulting in transport of debris downhill
by rolling, sliding, and slumping.

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 1. Slump – type of slide wherein
downward rotation of rock or regolith
occurs along a curved surface.
2. Rock fall and debris fall– free falling of
dislodged bodies of rocks or a mixture of
rock, regolith, and soil in the case of
debris fall
3. Rock slide and debris slide- involves
the rapid displacement of masses of rock
or debris along an inclined surface
B. Sediment flow- materials flow downhill mixed with water or air; Slurry and granular
flows are further subdivided based on velocity at which flow occurs
1. Slurry flow – water-saturated flow which contains 20-40% water; above 40% water
content, slurry flows grade into streams
• Solifluction – common wherever
water cannot escape from the
saturated surface layer by infiltrating
to deeper levels; creates distinctive
features: lobes and sheets of debris
• Debris flow – results from heavy
rains causing soil and regolith to be
saturated with water; commonly
have a tongue-like front; Debris flows
composed mostly of volcanic
materials on the flanks of volcanoes
are called lahars.
Rodolfo, K.S. (2000) in his paper
“The hazard from lahars and
jokulhaups” explained the distinction
between debris flow,
hyperconcentrated flow and mudflow: debris flow contains 10-25 wt% water,
hyperconcentrated stream flow has 25-40 wt% water, and mudflow is restricted to
flows composed dominantly of mud

• Mud flow – highly fluid, high velocity

mixture of sediment and water; can
start as a muddy stream that
becomes a moving dam of mud and
rubble; differs with debris flow in that
fine-grained material is predominant;

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2. Granular flow - contains low amounts of water, 0-20% water; fluid-like behavior is
possible by mixing with air
• Creep – slowest type of mass wasting
requiring several years of gradual
movement to have a pronounced effect
on the slope ; evidence often seen in
bent trees, offset in roads and fences,
inclined utility poles. Creep occurs when
regolith alternately expands and
contracts in response to freezing and
thawing, wetting and drying, or warming
and cooling.
• Earth flow – involves fine-grained
material such as clay and silt and usually associated with heavy rains or snowmelt;
tend to be narrow tongue-like features that that begin at a scarp or cliff
• Grain flow – forms in dry or nearly dry granular sediment with air filling the pore
spaces such as sand flowing down the dune face
• Debris avalanche – very high velocity flows involving huge masses of falling rocks
and debris that break up and pulverize on impact; often occurs in very steep
mountain ranges. Some studies suggest that high velocities result from air trapped
under the rock mass creating a cushion of air that reduces friction
events that trigger mass wasting processes.
a. Shocks and vibrations – earthquakes and minor shocks such as those produced
by heavy trucks on the road, man-made explosions
b. Slope modification – creating artificially steep slope so it is no longer at the angle
of repose
c. Undercutting – due to streams eroding banks or surf action undercutting a slope
d. Changes in hydrologic characteristics – heavy rains lead to water-saturated
regolith increasing its weight, reducing grain to grain contact and angle of repose;
e. Changes in slope strength – weathering weakens the rock and leads to slope
failure; vegetation holds soil in place and slows the influx of water; tree roots
strengthen slope by holding the ground together
f. Volcanic eruptions - produce shocks; may produce large volumes of water from
melting of glaciers during eruption, resulting to mudflows and debris flows

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