Task: Question Generation
Input (English): Different rock types weather at different rates. Certain types of rock are very resistant to weathering. Igneous rocks, especially intrusive igneous rocks such as granite, weather slowly because it is hard for water to penetrate them. Other types of rock, such as limestone, are easily weathered because they dissolve in weak acids. Rocks that resist weathering remain at the surface and form ridges or hills. Shiprock in New Mexico is the throat of a volcano thats left after the rest of the volcano eroded away. The rock thats left behind is magma that cooled relatively slowly and is harder than the rock that had surrounded it. Different minerals also weather at different rates. Some minerals in a rock might completely dissolve in water, but the more resistant minerals remain. In this case, the rocks surface becomes pitted and rough. When a less resistant mineral dissolves, more resistant mineral grains are released from the rock. A beautiful example of this effect is the "Stone Forest" in China, see the video below: The Shiprock formation in northwest New Mexico is the central plug of resistant lava from which the surrounding rock weath- ered and eroded away. Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: A regions climate strongly influences weathering. Climate is determined by the temperature of a region plus the amount of precipitation it receives. Climate is weather averaged over a long period of time. Chemical weathering increases as: Temperature increases: Chemical reactions proceed more rapidly at higher temperatures. For each 10o C increase in average temperature, the rate of chemical reactions doubles. Precipitation increases: More water allows more chemical reactions. Since water participates in both mechan- ical and chemical weathering, more water strongly increases weathering. So how do different climates influence weathering? A cold, dry climate will produce the lowest rate of weathering. A warm, wet climate will produce the highest rate of weathering. The warmer a climate is, the more types of vegetation it will have and the greater the rate of biological weathering (Figure 1.2). This happens because plants and bacteria grow and multiply faster in warmer temperatures. Some resources are concentrated by weathering processes. In tropical climates, intense chemical weathering carries away all soluble minerals, leaving behind just the least soluble components. The aluminum oxide, bauxite, forms this way and is our main source of aluminum ore.
Output (English): climate is determined by