What do the waves do to the rocks?

What do the waves do to the rocks?

The energy in waves can break apart rocks. Over time waves make small cracks bigger. Eventually the wave causes the rock to chip off. Waves can also erode rock by abrasion.

How does a pebble move?

A pebble or sand particle moves from point A to B, carried by the swash up the beach , the angle determined by the wave and wind direction. It is then pulled down the beach from B to C, carried by gravity and the wave’s backwash .

How do waves break rocks?

Waves form when wind blows over the surface of the ocean. The waves move toward land. When waves crash into the land over a long time, they can break rock down into smaller pieces. These pieces are called sand.

How do waves transport materials?

Waves can approach the coast at an angle because of the direction of the prevailing wind. The swash of the waves carries material up the beach at an angle. The backwash then flows back to the sea in a straight line at 90°. This movement of material is called transportation.

What happens when water hits a rock?

When you throw a rock into a river, it pushes water out of the way, making a ripple that moves away from where it landed. The water usually rushes back too enthusiastically, causing a splash – and the bigger the rock, the bigger the splash.

What causes Longshores?

Longshore currents are generated when a “train” of waves reach the coastline and release bursts of energy. When a wave reaches a beach or coastline, it releases a burst of energy that generates a current, which runs parallel to the shoreline. This type of current is called a “longshore current.”

What pushes swash at an angle?

The movement of the material is known as longshore drift . Waves approach the coast at an angle because of the direction of prevailing wind. The swash will carry the material towards the beach at an angle. The backwash then flows back to the sea, down the slope of the beach.

What rock is smaller than a pebble?

gravel range in size from pebbles (4–64 mm [0.16–2.52 inches] in diameter), through cobbles (64–256 mm [2.52–10.08 inches]), to boulders (larger than 256 mm).

What are the 4 processes of mass movement?

The types of mass movements caused by the above factors include: the abrupt movement and free fall of loosened blocks of solid rock, known as rockfalls; several types of almost imperceptible downslope movement of surficial soil particles and rock debris, collectively called creep; the subsurface creep of rock material.

How do you make water ripples?

When you throw a rock into a river, it pushes water out of the way, making a ripple that moves away from where it landed. As the rock falls deeper into the river, the water near the surface rushes back to fill in the space it left behind.

How does wave energy do the work of erosion?

Wave energy does the work of erosion at the shore. Waves approach the shore at some angle so the inshore part of the wave reaches shallow water sooner than the part that is further out.

What makes a ripple after a pebble is dropped?

But the water molecules that make up the shape of the ripple just after the pebble is dropped are completely different to the ones that make up the ever-spreading ripple five seconds later. Each water molecule stays roughly where it is, barring some jiggling, while the wave moves on.

How does wave energy change as it passes through water?

As the energy of a wave passes through water, the energy sets water particles into orbital motion as shown in Fig. 4.18 A. Notice that water particles near the surface move in circular orbits with diameters approximately equal to the wave height. Notice also that the orbital diameter, and the wave energy, decreases deeper in the water.

How are waves able to travel across the ocean?

However, water does not actually travel in waves. Waves transmit energy, not water, across the ocean and if not obstructed by anything, they have the potential to travel across an entire ocean basin.