Agents of Erosion

Erosion is the carrying away of broken down rocks. It is important to understand what agents of erosion are more common in specific ecoregions of Texas.

Agents of Erosion: wind, water, ice, gravity

Agents of Weathering

There are 2 main types of weathering: Mechanical and Chemical. Mechanical weathering is the breaking down of rock by a physical process. Chemical weathering is the breaking down of rock by a chemical process. Below are a list of each agent of weathering for both mechanical and chemical.

Mechanical: abrasion, ice wedging, plant roots, and animals burrowing
Chemical: oxidation, hydration, carbonation, lichens

Images of Texas Eco-Regions

Video Clip of Coastline

Texas Eco-Regions

What sets weathering, erosion, and deposition apart in 7th grade is learning how to apply our knowledge to the different ecoregions of Texas. Students will need to have a good understanding of these regions and the agents of weathering and erosion that might be found.

Weathering Summary

Summary: Weathering is the breaking down of rock. There are two types of weathering: mechanical (water, wind, ice) and chemical (oxidation, lichens, acid rain). Erosion is when water, wind, or ice carries away rock fragments/sediment to a different area. The process of weathering is a VERY slow process that occurs over millions of years. Constructive and destructive forces are always at work either breaking down or building up the Earth’s surface.

Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition

Students will spend the next 2 weeks reviewing and discussing weathering, erosion, and deposition. To teach this topic, I always begin with a song:)