How to Watch Weathering With Your Neighbors

Weathering is the process of breaking down rocks and minerals on or near the Earth’s surface. It occurs naturally, but it can also be accelerated by human activity such as air pollution.

Weathering is a complex, slow process that can take hundreds of years. It is influenced by a variety of factors including temperature, water and ice, wind, chemical weathering, plants and animals.

Water freezes and thaws

Water is one of the most important compounds found in our world. It forms a variety of liquid, gas and solid states.

In its liquid state, water floats in the air, forming a kind of invisible gas called water vapor. It's this vapor that creates the clouds we see in the sky during cloudy days.

When the vapor cools enough to freeze into ice, it does something strange. Most substances become less dense and sink as ice, but water floats from the top down.

The reason water floats is because it's a polar molecule -- a molecule that has both negative and positive charges. As a result, it attracts other molecules and atoms of its opposite charge, making it a great bonding agent.

This property allows water to form relatively strong bonds, like a glue, with other molecules in its surroundings. It also makes water stick together when it freezes.

As a result, it can clog up pipes and leak into homes. Pipes that lead from outside taps to inside walls, or from pipes in unheated spaces such as garages or attics are particularly at risk for freezing and leaking.

A frozen pipe can cause serious damage to your home. It can even cause a serious plumbing emergency, resulting in thousands of dollars' worth of repairs.

The most common signs that you have a frozen pipe are:

Lack of running water (e.g., when you turn on a faucet only a trickle comes out).

To avoid frozen pipes, keep your home's thermostat set to a reasonable temperature. Frozen pipes can often be thawed with heat, but this should only be done gradually and by a professional.

During extreme cold weather, you should use space heaters to keep your home warm and prevent pipes from freezing. If possible, close room doors after you unplug a heater to help keep the area warmer longer.

Show students a video from the "Chemistry Comes Alive" series to demonstrate what happens when water freezes and thaws. You may also wish to discuss with them that when water freezes, the volume of liquid water increases, but the weight does not change.

Wind blows

Weathering is a process of breaking down rock, soil and minerals. It occurs on a large scale through volcanic activity and tectonic plate calamities, but also on a smaller scale in the form of lichen and moss.

The most common type of weathering is a chemical reaction that causes oxidation to break down the molecules in soil and rocks. This is done by a combination of heat and pressure. It's also a good way to make a lot of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, which can be used for fuel by plants and animals.

A lesser known form of weathering is the result of biological processes. For instance, the roots of a tree might be able to dislodge rock from its place in the ground. Similarly, ivy that grows up the side of a building might have the power to loosen a brick or two.

Other factors that have a huge impact on the weather include solar energy, gravity, the rotation of Earth and the Coriolis effect. These forces combine to create what are known as prevailing winds, the ones that briskly blow across most of the planet on a daily basis.

Sand and rocks wear away

The sand you see on beaches is made up of tiny pieces of rock that are eroded away from rocky cliffs, lava flows, and other rocks. These particles are called sediment and are often deposited in other places, sometimes hundreds of miles away.

Sand is usually made up of well-rounded, quartz grains (silicon dioxide) that were formed in the weathering process of softer, weaker minerals, such as feldspar. This is because quartz is the most resistant mineral to weathering processes and is therefore the best sand-making material.

Most of the minerals in sand are formed in later periods, as the rock is exposed to heat and pressure. They are usually more stable than the early, hotter minerals and therefore they weather away faster.

Because of their stability, quartz sand tends to accumulate in rivers and streams where they are exposed to the most weathering. Grains of other weathering-resistant minerals, such as olivine, pyroxene, and amphibole are also found in some sand samples.

As the weathering process wears down the rocks, the softer minerals can be replaced with newer, more resistant materials. This is called abiogenic erosion. The same thing happens to oceanic crust, including lava from volcanic eruptions.

Some types of sand have different kinds of minerals in them, like marine sand that contains clay minerals such as glauconite. These can be very dark in color, and they are sometimes even a different color from the original rock they came from.

Other sand is made up of other materials, like shell fragments and biogenic particles. These can be very small, and are sometimes even shaped like mollusks.

These are very small things, but they can also be incredibly hard and durable. They are used to make tools and other things. For example, shells and other hard materials are used to build ships and other items. And sand is used to make sandboxes and other toys. It is also used in landscaping and other types of projects. And sometimes, it is even used to clean the air!

Rainfall

Rain is a major player in the water cycle and is a key contributor to a healthy ecosystem. It also happens to be one of the most visible and audible indicators of a changing climate. To learn more about your home town's precipitation and its weathering cousins, be sure to sign up for a free CoCoRaHS account today! It only takes five minutes a day and you'll be joining an ever-growing community of like-minded scientists, doers, and dreamers. You'll be part of the most prestigious national research program in the country and you'll be helping to shape our future. The best part is you'll get to know your neighbors in a whole new way. The more you connect with your local gurus, the better off you'll be.