The size of each grain of a sediment. it decreases from gravel, sand, silt and clay.
The living, or once living, material that makes up soil.
Preexisting rocks in which minerals are changed by pressure and heat.
The effect of motion, such as wind, rain, waves, glacial movement, and freezing and thawing that wear away rocks and bedrock.
Decomposed (rotting) organic material (living material) found in soil.
When molten rock material cools and hardens to become a solid. it is one of the three types of rocks
Forces that help in building new rocks and landforms
When sediments are deposited in layers, pressed down under great pressure over a long period of time, and become cemented or fastened together into a solid piece.
A natural, solid earth material that is made of one or more different minerals. rocks form a major part of the Earths surface.
A mixture of organic (living) and inorganic (nonliving) material that makes up the top layer of the surface of the earth. provides the necessary nutrients and minerals for plant growth and repair and is home to many species of animals
The slight melting of the bottom surface of the glacier that causes freezing and thawing in the cracks in the rocks below. the loosened rocks become imbedded or attached to the ice and move with the glacier
A large mass of ice that has formed from many years of compacted snow. slowing moving masses that change the surface of the earth
The processes that cause minerals and rocks to become smaller. it includes the actions of frost, plant roots, thermal expansion, the rubbing of rocks upon rocks, moving water and wind, gases, and living organisms
An increase in volume due to a change in temperature. water expands when it freezes.
A decrease in volume due to a change in temperature. water contracts when it thaws