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Weathering is a process by which rocks and minerals are gradually broken down into smaller and smaller particles.

Weathering of rocks is caused by chemical and mechanical means. Slightly acidic rainwater can react with rock surfaces, dissolving them over time. Rocks can also be affected by organic sources of chemical reactants. Heat from the sun can cause differences in temperature between the surface and the interior of a rock which can cause a loosening of the surface called exfoliation. Liquid water penetrates cracks in the rocks surface where it can freeze and expand, opening up the cracks for further attack in tandem with acidic rainwater. Plant root growth can also cause cracks to further expand, making them more vulnerable to frost expansion and chemical attack. Underlying rock which is exposed due to erosion of the overlying rock becomes free of the pressure it was previously exposed to, causing the rock to expand and break apart. Other means of weathering include the expansion of crystallizing salts that have been taken in by a rock surface, expansion due to the absorption of water, and hydraulic action from crashing waves on seashore rock formations.

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6y ago
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14y ago

The general term for the breakdown of rocks is "weathering".

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16y ago

Weathering is the process of breaking down rock into smaller particles. Abrasion is a form of mechanical weathering.

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14y ago

weathering

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Q: What is the process called of breaking down rocks abrasion erosion sublimation or weathering?
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Related questions

What kind of force is weathering and erosion?

abrasion


What kind of weathering is wind erosion?

This weathering is called ABRASION


How can nature change the rock cycle?

By weathering and erosion. The types of weathering used is:physical weathering- when a plant grows inside a rock and the roots break it apart; abrasion- mechanical weathering - erosion- and chemical weathering - acid rain, water weathering and erosion.


What is it called when water or wind wears something down?

Erosion , weathering ,


What process of weathering most common?

Abrasion and hot/cold thermal spalling.


How are rocks worn away?

Rocks are worn away through the process of weathering and erosion. Weathering is the breaking down of rocks into smaller pieces while erosion is what carries the rock to new places. Rocks can be worn away by water, ice, and wind. Examples of this are abrasion, ice wedging, and dissolution.


What weathering process could be modeled using sandpaper to design an experiment to test the resistance to weathering of various type of materials?

Abrasion is often likened to a sandpaper effect acting on the rock in question. Abrasion occurs when an agent of erosion carries sediment and the sediment collides with a rock face, breaking both up.


How was long island formed by glaciers?

weathering and erosion the glacier used abrasion and then all of the rocks would be taken away by erosion


Was long island formed by glaciers?

weathering and erosion the glacier used abrasion and then all of the rocks would be taken away by erosion


Which process involves removal of rock particles by wind water ice or gravity?

Erosion it also means abrasion, which does with weathering


What is the difference between weathering and corrosion?

Weathering is the breaking down of particles, but did you mean erosion?


What is the shifting and breaking of the rocks?

do you mean Weathering, Erosion, and deposition