EARTH SCIENCE

Q2- Week 1 lesson

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson the students will be able to;

LESSON PROPER

External Earth processes

Weathering, erosion, sedimentation, and mass wasting are called external processes or exogenic
processes since they occur near the Earth’s surface. These external processes are essential parts of the
rock cycle because they transform solid rocks into sediments. Since the beginning of the Earth,
mountains have been weathered and eroded, lakes have been filled with sediments, and plains have
been formed.

Weathering

The breaking down of rocks and other materials on the Earth’s surface is called weathering. It is a
slow but continuous process affecting all substances exposed to the atmosphere. Large pieces of rocks
break. Over long periods of time, the rocks crumble and decay. Rocks on the Earth’s surface may undergo
mechanical weathering and chemical weathering. Mechanical weathering occurs when rocks break into
pieces without changing their chemical composition. On the other hand, chemical weathering occurs when
the chemical composition of the rock is changed due to the action of other substances.

Mechanical Weathering

Mechanical weathering causes rocks to be broken into smaller pieces. This type of weathering
does not change the chemical composition of the rocks, since they are just torn apart by physical forces.
Temperature, frost action, abrasion, and the action of living things are some of the different agents of
mechanical weathering.

Temperature. Rocks break because of the changes in temperature. During the day, the Earth’s
surface is heated by the Sun. As the surface of the rock is heated, it expands but it remains cool inside.
During the night when the temperature drops, the surface of the rock is cooled and the rock contracts. The
cycle of heating and cooling, as well as the expansion and contraction of rocks, is repeated daily. The
repeated changes in temperature causes the surface of the rock to peel off. This type of breaking off is
called exfoliation.

Frost Action. A unique property of water is that it expands when it freezes. Frost action occurs when
water seeps into the small cracks of rock layers. When air temperature drops below the freezing point of
water, the water within the cracks expands. As the water expands, it exerts pressure to the surrounding
rocks that causes it to break.

Abrasion. This is the weathering off of rocks by solid particles carried by wind, water, and other
agents. Wind that carries sand particles causes abrasion of the rocks leading to unusual rock formations
on the Earth’s surface. Running water causes abrasion as it carries other rock particles. The rock particles
in the water scrape the rocks in the riverbed causing the rocks to become rounded and smooth.

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 Action of living things. Plants, animals, and even humans can cause mechanical weathering. Plant
roots try to push through the underground rocks to get their needed nutrients. As they mature, the roots
grow bigger and longer and exert pressure on the rocks causing them to break. There are burrowing animals
that build tunnel into the rocks to create a space where they live. The construction of roads, dams, power
plants, and other types of groundwork by humans’ cause rocks to break, too.

Chemical Weathering

Chemical weathering changes the mineral content and the chemical composition of rocks. As
chemical changes occur, minerals may either be added or removed from the rocks. Water, oxygen, carbon
dioxide, sulfuric acid, and acids from plants and animals are some of the agents of chemical weathering.

Water. Almost all chemical weathering is due to the action of water. Water can dissolve most of the
minerals present in rocks. It can form acids when it combines with some of the gases in the air. It can also
combine with minerals to form a different kind of minerals. For example, feldspar reacts with water to form
clay.

Oxygen. Oxygen combines with other substances to form entirely new substance. For example,
when iron-bearing rocks are exposed to the surface, their physical properties and chemical composition
may change. When iron reacts with oxygen in the air, it forms rust which is a different substance. The rocks
become brittle and break easily.

Carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide in air combines with rain water to form a weak solution of carbonic
acid. It can then seep into rocks and dissolve the parts of the rock that react with acids.

Sulfur Oxide. Sulfur oxides are produced when fossil fuels are burned. They combine with rain
water to form sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid is stronger than carbonic acid. It easily corrodes rocks, metals, and
other materials.

Acids and chemicals from organisms. Organisms such as plants can also cause chemical
weathering. They produce acids and other chemicals that dissolve some minerals in rocks.

Soil Formation

The weathering of rocks on the Earth’s surface results in soil formation. As rocks weather, they
change into smaller pieces. These smaller pieces are further broken down into soil.

Soil is very important to living organisms. Plants depend on soil for food, nutrients, and minerals. It
also holds water that the plants need. Animals depend on soil indirectly by eating the plants, or eating other
animals that eat plants.

Sometimes, soil remains on top of its parent rock or the rock form which it was formed. This is
called residual soil which has the same composition as the parent rock. Soil is moved to other places by
wind, water, glaciers, and waves. This type of soil is called transported soil. Transported soil has a very
different composition form the rock that it covers. The parent rock beneath the residual and transported
soils is called the bedrock.

Erosion and Sedimentation

Soil, the product of weathering, is carried away by erosion to other places. Erosion is the process
by which soil and weathered rocks are transported from one place to another. Eroded rocks and soil are
deposited in other places. The process through which sediments are transported to another location is
called deposition or sedimentation. Over time, these materials accumulate and change the different features
of the Earth’s surface. Erosion moves materials from place to place, while deposition forms various surface
features. Winds, waves, running water, glaciers, and gravity are agent’s erosion that continuously shape
the Earth’s surface.

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1. Wind is the most active agent of erosion in deserts, open fields, and beaches. In these places, loose
materials are abundant and can be easily picked up and carried by the wind. The amount of rock and soil
that can be blown away by the wind depends on its speed. The faster the wind blows, the more particles it
can carry. As the speed of wind decreases, the particles that it can no longer carry are deposited as dunes
and loess. Dunes are mounds that are built by wind consisting of loose sand. Loess is the deposit of fine
sand and silt. It is light in color and without visible layer. It may be several meters thick and can form a
nearly vertical cliff. Loess deposits are very fertile.

2. Waves constantly erode and shape the shoreline. The shoreline is where the body of water and land
meet. Waves can carry large amounts of sand, rock particles, and shells. These solid particles are then
deposited in other parts of the shoreline. The shape of the shoreline is always changing and deposits form
beaches, sand bars, and spits. Beaches consist of fine sand or large pebbles that are carried by waves to
the shores of seas and lakes. The sediments compromising a beach may contain seashells, corals, and
other materials that originate from marine organisms. Sandbars are submerged or partly exposed ridge of
sand or coarse sediment that is built by waves offshore from a beach. Spits are elongated ridge of sand
that stretches from the land to the mount of a nearby bay.

3. Running water is one of the major agents of erosion. From falling raindrops to rushing rivers, running
water has a great impact on the Earth’s surface. Rivers, streams, and runoff are examples of running water.
Runoff is the rainwater that flows on the surface and flows to the rivers and streams. A stream or river can
carry large amounts of sediments. When the flow of rivers and streams slows down, sediments are
deposited. Large sediments usually settle on the riverbed while smaller ones are deposited along river
banks forming oxbow lakes, alluvial fans, deltas, flood plains, and levees.

• An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water that forms when a river finds a different, shorter
course.
• An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit of gravel, sand, and even smaller pieces of
sediments, such as silt, formed when the stream flow suddenly slows down. The sediment
is called alluvium.
• A delta is a landform created by the deposition of sediments carried by a river as the stream
flows to a lake or an ocean.
• A flood plain is a flat area of land close to a river or stream. It stretches from the banks of
the river extending towards the outer edges of a valley.
• A levee is a natural wall that blocks the water created by the deposit of large particles. A
levee may be used to increase available land for habitation or divert a body of water, so
the fertile soil of a river or seabed may be used for agriculture. It prevents rivers from
flooding cities during storm surges. However, if a levee breaks, water may be released and
flooding may occur.
• Glaciers erode surfaces through abrasion. As a glacier moves along a valley, it carries with
its rock debris, such as large boulders and smaller particles. These wear down the surface
by abrading the rocks that it comes in contact with. The moving glacier scrapes away and
creates grooves into rocks as it moves, creating various surfaces features.
• A moraine is the accumulation of dirt and rocks that have fallen onto the glacier surface or
have been pushed along by the glacier as it moves. The dirt and rocks can range in size
from powdery silt to large rocks and boulders.
• A drumlin is an elongated hill with the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg, which
is formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated sediments or ground moraine.
• Meltwater deposits are sediments carried and deposited along the meltwater streams,
which are formed when glaciers start to melt.
• Iceberg deposits are rocks and sediments that are picked up from land and deposited on
the ocean floor by melting icebergs.

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 • A glacial lake is a lake created by melted glacier. It is formed when a glacier erodes the
land, and then melts, filling the space that it has created with water.
• Mass wasting occurs when gravity pulls rocks and soil down the slopes. The rock debris
settles at the base of the slope and is called talus or accumulated sediments.
• A landslide is an example of mass wasting that can be caused by an earthquake, volcanic
eruption, or the weakening of supporting rocks caused by heavy rain. It can move tons of
sediments down a slope and cause tremendous damage.
• A mudflow is another type of mass wasting that usually occurs after a heavy rain. The mud
slides downhill picking up rocks and boulders that cause it to become thicker. It can move
just about anything in its path including tress and houses.
• A slump is the downward sliding of a mass of rock or unconsolidated materials along a
curved surface.
• Debris flow involves the flow of soil containing large amount of water along a downward
slope.
• A creep is the slow type of mass wasting that involves the gradual downhill movement of
soil caused by the alternate expansion and contraction of the surface due to freezing and
melting, or wetting drying.
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Internal Earth Processes

The processes that happen inside the Earth are called endogenic processes. These processes are
important parts of the Earth system for they the ones that cause changes on the Earth’s surfaces. These
processes include the heating of the Earth’s interior, formation of magma, and metamorphism of rocks.

Heating the Earth’s Interior

The Earth’s core in extremely hot. Its temperature is about 6000 degree Celsius, which is similar to
the surface temperature of the Sun. The heat in the Earth’s interior comes from three different sources: (1)
heat that was left during the formation of the Earth, (2) the gravitational pressure on the core caused by the
tidal forces of the Sun, Moon, other planets and the rotation of the Earth, and (3) the radioactive decay of
elements in the core.

The Earth was formed around 4.5 billion years ago. Gravity pulled matter together and compressed
them to form the Earth. Matter moving at great velocities resulted in the collisions of particles which
generated heat. This heat was trapped and became the initial heat source in the Earth’s interior. The Earth
is under immense pressure due to the tidal forces exerted by the Sun, the Moon, and other planets in the
Solar System. Earth’s rotation also heats up the Earth’s interior. The combined tidal pressure and rotation
of the Earth cause the core to be under immense pressure. This pressure basically keeps the core hot in
the same way as a pressure cooker. It also helps to minimize the heat it loses.

The last and most important source of heat is nuclear fission of heavy elements in the Earth’s
interior. The continuous nuclear fission of radioactive elements replaces the heat that the Earth loses. This
fission process occurs in the form of radioactive decay. It also creates the convection currents in the mantle
that causes the movement of tectonic plates.

REFERENCES

Felicerta, C. N. & Baguio, S. S. (2017). Breaking through Earth Science for Senior High School.