Sedimentary Rock Worksheet

Associate Program Material

Sedimentary Rock Worksheet

Use the following table to describe and distinguish between the effects of weathering and erosion. Each response must be at least 200 words.

|Effects of Weathering |Effects of Erosion |What are the Differences? |

|Weathering is usually caused by water as it|Soil is removed naturally by ocean |Weathering is the breakdown of rocks |

|freezes and thaws. Large cracks can form in|currents, water, ice, wind or living |through physical processes; whereas erosion|

|large rock formations as a result of frost |organisms and is called erosion. This |is the wearing a way of bedrock and the |

|wedging. Frost wedging is a form of |displacement of soil, mud, rock and other |transport of particles by water. Erosion is|

|mechanical weathering. Many popular rock |particles has been occurring for over 450 |caused by the movement of water, but |

|formations became what they are today |million years. This is a downward movement |weathering is not caused by movement |

|through the process of weathering and the |in response to gravity. Erosion is a | |

|rock cycle. Salt crystals can form in |natural process and can be healthy for the | |

|cracks and joints of rocks near the ocean. |ecosystem, but oftentimes is made worse by | |

|The sea water gets trapped in the cracks |human use such as deforestation/removal of | |

|and evaporates; eventually salt crystals |vegetation, overgrazing, unmanaged | |

|form in the cracks breaking down the rock. |construction or building of roads. Improved| |

|The Salt Point State Park in California...