Question 1 Report
Fig. 1 shows a cross-section through an inselberg, an isolated hill rising above a flat desert plain in central Australia. A class collected rock fragments from the base and observed that sheet-like layers had separated from the exposed granite. Their teacher asks them to relate this landscape to daily heating and cooling.
(a) Which term describes the peeling of outer rock layers caused by temperature changes: exfoliation, deposition or carbonation? [1]
(b) Outline how repeated heating and cooling can produce exfoliation. [2]
(c) Draw one curved line on Fig. 1 to show a layer that could peel away from the granite surface. [1]
(a) Exfoliation [1] (b) Rock expands when heated and contracts when cooled [1]; repeated stress causes outer layers to crack/peel off [1]. (c) One curved line parallel to the outer granite surface [1]
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