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| A series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly changes rocks from one kind to another. |
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| A type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface of the Earth. |
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| A natural inorganic solid with a crystal structure and definite chemical composition. |
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| A solid in which the atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats again and again. |
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| A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together. |
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| Small, solid pieces of material from rocks or organisms; earth materials deposited by erosion. |
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| Rock that forms when a rock is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions. |
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| A resource that is either always available or is naturally replaced relatively quickly. |
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| Rock that contains a metal or useful mineral. |
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| The process by which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements. |
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| The chemical or physical processes that break down rock at Earth's surface. |
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| The type of weathering in which rock is physically broken into smaller pieces. |
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| The process that breaks down rock through chemical changes. |
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| The process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves weathered rock or soil. |
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| The grinding away of rock by other rock particles carried in water, ice, or wind. |
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| Process that splits rock when water seeps into cracks, then freezes and expands. |
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| A chemical change in which a substance combines with oxygen as when iron forms rust. |
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| Characteristic of a material full of tiny, connected air spaces that water can seep through. |
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| The loose, weathered material on Earth's surface in which plants can grow. |
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| The management of soil to prevent its destruction. |
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| The layer of soil that differs in color ans texture from the layers above or below it. |
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| Dark-colored, decayed organic material found in soil. |
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| Rich, fertile soil that is made up of equal parts clay, sand, and silt. |
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| A mixture of humus, clay, and other minerals that forms the crumbly, topmost layer of soil. |
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| The layer of soil immediately beneath the topsoil. It contains a few nutrients from the humus that have washed down through the upper layers of soil; consists mostly of weathered minerals from the bedrock. |
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| he layer of soil above bedrock; consists mainly of larger weathered fragments of the bedrock; contains clay and sand particles but very little organic material; very rich in minerals |
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| Anything in the environment that humans use. |
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| The loose layer of dead plant leaves and stems on the surface of the soil. |
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| An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms. |
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| A thick mass of grass roots and soil. |
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| The area of the Great Plains where wind erosion caused soil loss during the 1030s. |
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| Plowing fields along the curves of a slope to prevent soil loss. |
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| Soil conservation method in which the dead stalks from the previous year's crop are left in the ground to hold the soil in place. |
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| The planting of different crops in a field each year to maintain the soil's fertility. |
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