ELS Revised Q1 Module 3 - EXOGENIC AND

ENDOGENIC PROCESSES
Environmental Science (De La Salle University – Dasmariñas)

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EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE

Quarter 1 - MODULE 3
I. TITLE : EXOGENIC AND ENDOGENIC PROCESSES
II. INTRODUCTION:
Exogenic processes are forces on or above Earth’s surface while Endogenic processes are tectonic
movements below the surface of the Earth. In this module, we are going to talk about the processes that mainly
shape the Earth.
III. OBJECTIVES:
After going through this module, students are expected to:
• Explain how the products of weathering are carried away by erosion and deposited elsewhere
• Describe where the Earth’s internal heat comes from.
• Describe how magma is formed (magmatism)
• Describe the physical and chemical changes in rocks due to changes in pressure and
temperature (metamorphism)
• Compare and contrast the formation of the different types of igneous rocks
IV. PRE-TEST:
What is your idea between the definition of Magma and Lava?

V. DISCUSSION:
EXOGENIC PROCESSES
Weathering is the general term applied to the combined action of all physical and chemical processes that
disintegrate and decompose rocks near Earth's surface through the elements of weather. Weathering begins as soon as
rocks are exposed to one or more elements of weather on the surface of Earth. Generally, the disintegration and
decomposition processes act together, but one may be dominant, depending on the climate. In addition, the weathered
material lies on top of the unweathered layer of rock.

Physical Weathering
Physical weathering happens whenever rocks are broken up without any change in their chemical composition.
Sometimes called mechanical weathering, this type of weathering takes place in different ways, depending on the factor
that acts on the rock. These factors include pressure, warm temperature, water, and ice. Examples of physical
weathering include block disintegration, exfoliation, and frost action.
• Block disintegration is caused by successive heating and cooling that causes the expansion and contraction of rocks.
In hot desert regions, the high diurnal range of temperature of day and night causes
successive expansion and contraction of the rocks. This repeated expansion and contraction
creates stress along the joints, eventually breaking down the rock, block by block.
• Exfoliation is the stripping of the outer layers of rocks due to intense heating. Since rocks
are poor conductors of heat, the inner layers remain almost unaffected by heat. The
successive
expansion and contraction of the outer layers of the rock peels off from the main rock in the
form of concentric shells.
• Frost weathering refers to the alternate freezing and thawing of
water inside the joints of the rocks, causing them to split into small
particles or fragments. This occurs because the conversion of water
into ice increases the volume of water by 10 percent. This is the most important physical
weathering process in cold regions.
•
Chemical Weathering
Chemical weathering is the weakening or disintegration of rocks and the formation of new compounds or new
substances caused by chemical reactions. Chemical processes include oxidation, hydrolysis, and acid action.
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•Oxidation is the process in which oxygen reacts with the rock and changes its mineral composition. The greatest
impact of this process is observed on ferrous minerals, which contain iron. The oxygen in
humid air reacts with iron in the rocks to form oxides of iron called rust. Rust can break
down rocks completely when given enough time.
• Carbonation is the process involving the formation of various types of carbonates in rocks.
Some of these carbonates are soluble in water. For example,
when rainwater containing carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid, it
passes through permeable limestone rocks. This process results in the enlargement of rocks
and removal of lime, which holds the particles together.
• Hydration is the result of the absorption or combination of water
and a particular substance on the rock, leading to a change in shape. The addition of water
in the rock increases its volume, which changes the shape of the grains. Feldspar, for
example, is changed into kaolin through hydration.
• Solution is the process in which some of the minerals in rocks are directly dissolved in
water. As water continues to remove substances in rocks, the rock is deformed, broken
into pieces, and disintegrated. Rock salt and gypsum are removed through this process.

Biotic Weathering
Biotic or biological weathering is the weathering or disintegration of rocks caused by
living organisms.
• Plants contribute to both mechanical and chemical weathering. The roots of the plants
penetrate into the joints of the rocks searching for moisture. As the roots grow larger and
thicker, they exert pressure on the rocks. The pressure acts as a wedge, widening and
extending the cracks, and breaking the rock into fragments.
• Animals like earthworms, rats, rabbits, termites and ants breakdown the rocks through burrowing. These
disintegrated rocks can easily be exposed to more intense processes, or be eroded or removed by other agents. The
action of microbes on rocks changes the chemical composition of rocks. This makes the rocks more susceptible to
weathering.
• Humans play a very important role in the weathering of rocks. Provisions for agriculture, construction of houses, and
construction of roads, among others, require large amounts of rocks to be broken down. Mining minerals also
require breaking, weakening, and loosening of rocks. The increase of acid rain is mainly due to human activities. An
increase in pollution also results in an increased amount of weathering agents in soil, water, and wind.

Mass Wasting
Mass wasting refers to the downslope movement of
rock, regolith, and soil because of gravity. Mass wasting is a
natural process that occurs after weathering. It is considered a
natural hazard. Mass wasting’s are classified based on their
moisture (water content) and speed (rate of movement).The
saturation of water destroys the cohesion of rock particles,
causing them to become loose. Water also adds weight to a
mass, causing their downslope slid e or flow. The speed of the
downward movement of rocks results when air becomes
trapped and compressed beneath the falling mass. This allows
the mass to move as a buoyant, flexible sheet across the surface.
Based on the type of motion, mass wasting could be
generally classified as a fall, a slide, or a flow. The free-fall
movement of detached individual pieces of rock is called fall.
This is common on slopes that are too steep for loose material to
remain on the surface. Slides occur when rock materials remain fairly coherent and move along a well-defined surface.
Flow happens when rock materials are saturated with water and move downslope as a viscous fluid.

Soil Erosion
The product of weathering is the disintegration of rocks into particles of soil. The removal of soil at a greater
rate than its replacement by natural agencies is known as soil erosion.
• Wind erosion happens when winds carry large amount of fine soil particles and sand away from a region, spreading it
over adjoining cultivated land and destroying their fertility. It takes place in and around all desert regions of the
world.
• Sheet erosion is the removal of thin layers of soil because of surface runoff and rain. This type of erosion is common
along the riverbeds and areas affected by floods. If left unattended, the soil could be completely exhausted or devoid
of nutrients due to removal of topsoil, rendering it completely unusable for agriculture.
• Rill erosion is the removal of soil by the action of concentrated running water. This process creates several
centimeter-deep tiny channels called rills, which carry water during storms.
• Gully erosion is the removal of soil in water channels or drainage lines. The gullies gradually multiply and spread over
a wide area. The land being dissected is called badlands or ravines.

ENDOGENIC PROCESSES
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 Heat is seen as an energy from the motion of the molecules of bodies, such as Earth, that may be transferred by
conduction, convection, or radiation. Such heat drives the many internal processes of the planet.
There are three main sources of heat on Earth:
1. Heat from the accretion of Earth during its formation
2. Frictional heating, caused by the sinking of core materials to the center
of the planet
3. Heat from the decay of radioactive elements
Much of the planet's primordial heat from when Earth first accreted and
developed its core has been retained due to the slow conduction of heat through
nonconvecting layers such as Earth's plates at the surface. Hence, i t takes heat a
long time to move out of Earth. The descent of the dense iron material into the
core also produce heat at about 3000°F. The degree of heat radioactive decay
contributes is uncertain as the amount of radioactive elements deep on Earth is
not known.

Volcanism
Volcanism is the eruption of molten rock called magma
onto Earth's surface through a vent. It includes all phenomena
associated with the creation and discharge of magma within the
mantle to rise through the crust, forming volcanic rocks on the
surface. The driving force of volcanism is the plate tectonic
motion created by the movement of molten rocks in the mantle
caused by thermal convection currents.
The heat of the planet is trapped underneath. The
temperature increases with depth. In the upper crust, the rate
of temperature change averages at 20° to 30°C per kilometer.
This change in temperature is called the geothermal gradient.
It is a result of the residual heat of primordial Earth.
Magma is generated when the right conditions are met. These conditions include the addition of heat, decrease
in pressure, and change in composition of the mantle.
The addition of heat can be generated within the lithosphere at the subduction zone. The subduction zones are
the long, narrow zones where one lithospheric plate descends beneath another, specifically, when an oceanic
lithosphere thrusts into the mantle along a convergence. Heat in the crust and upper mantle is added as huge slabs of
crust slide past each other at the subduction zones by friction, when crus tal rocks descend at the subduction zone, and
when hot mantle rocks rises and intrudes crustal rocks.
Melting of the minerals within Earth causes the atoms to be disordered, making them move freely and take up
more space. In the case of magma, it occupies about 10 percent more volume than the rock that formed it. When a rock
is melted on the surface, it can do so readily because there is little pressure against its expansion. In the asthenosphere,
the high pressure would prevent a rock from expanding even if the temperature condition would allow it to melt.
However, when the pressure decreases, large volumes of rocks would melt within the asthenosphere. The melting
caused by decreasing pressure is called pressure- release melting.
The amount of water in a rock has an effect on its melting point. The addition of water to a rock that is close to
its melting point can cause the rock to melt. Certain tectonic processes add water to the rocks of the hot asthenosphere
to form magma.
The generation of magma is one of the processes in the rock cycle. The rock cycle shows the transformation of
one rock type into another. Metamorphic rocks are
produced by preexisting igneous, sedimentary, or other
metamorphic rocks. Through metamorphism, the texture
and mineral components of rocks change. Volcanic
eruptions contribute to the recycling of rocks in the plane
and the degree of metamorphism is reflected in the rock's
texture and mineral composition.
A volcano is a vent in the surface of Earth where
magma is expelled during a volcanic eruption. It is
sometimes referred to as igneous activity because the rock
being formed is an igneous rock. Lava is the primary
material extruded from a volcano in addition to volcanic
rocks, ash, and dust during volcanic eruptions. Volcanic
eruptions can cause changes to Earth's surface in many
ways. Eruptions could trigger mudflows, avalanches, and
cracks or fissures on Earth's surface.

Tectonic Forces and Processes

As the plates continue to move due to the convection of Earth's layers, rocks are continuously exposed to stress.
When rocks are subjected to stress, the rocks will eventually undergo strain or deformation. Deformation refers to any
change in the shape or size of a rock as a response to the stress. The deformation may occur by either folding or faulting.

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 Folding in rocks occur when they are subjected to tectonic forces from opposite sides. Compressional stress
causes squeezing, tensional stress causes stretching, and shearing stress causes side-to-side movement. Folding in rocks
often results in the appearance of physical folds called anticline and syncline.
With enough pressure exerted on a rock layer, it will eventually result in a fracture. If there are no movement on
either side of the fracture, it is called a joint. If there is any movement on one or both sides of the fracture, it is called a
fault. Faulting is the result of the fracture or displacement of rock layer or strata along a fault plane. A fault shows a
displacement of the two sides of a nonvertical fault: the hanging wall and the footwall. There are different types of
faults based on the relative movement of these sides.
Dip-slip faults show vertical movement of the hanging wall and the footwall. Examples of dip-slip faults are the
normal fault (caused by tension) and reverse fault (caused by compression). Strike-slip fault shows horizontal and
parallel displacements of the fault planes. A transform fault, which is caused by shear strain, is an example of a strike-
slip fault.

REFERENCES
[1] Olivar II, J. T., & Morales-Ramos, A. (2016). Exploring Life Through Science Series, Senior High School Earth and Life Science. Quezon City:
Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. .

[2] Sia, S. D., & Cotez, L. S. (2016). Science in Today's World for Senior High School, Earth and Life Science. Quezon City: SIBS Publishing House, Inc.

Name: Section: DATE :

VI. ASSESSMENT (Write your answers in a yellow sheet of paper with proper labels

ACTIVITY 1 Direction: Complete the exogenic processes table.

Block disintegration

1. 4..

Frost weathering

S 5. .

SSE
6. .
OCE Chemical
PR weathering
7. .
NIC Biotic or biological
GE weathering
Solution
EXO 2.
Wind erosion

8. .
3..
9. .

10..

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ACTIVITY 2 Direction: Using 2-3 sentences, answer the following items.
1. How is heat trapped within Earth?

2. How does weathering affect a landscape?

3. How is folding related to the altitude of mountains?

4. What causes volcanoes to erupt?

5. What is the difference of exogenic and endogenic processes?

ACTIVITY 3 Direction: Identify the parts of the fold.

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