What causes rocks to break down into smaller pieces?

Answer 1

Large rocks on the surface are broken by moisture seeping inside and then freezing in the winter. When they freeze the water inside expands and cracks the rock further. Wind and rain erode rocks. Avalanches break rocks as they fall down the mountainside. Earthquakes and eruptions.

Answer 2

Rocks break down into smaller pieces due to a process called weathering. This can occur through mechanical weathering, where rocks are physically broken down by factors like temperature changes, ice, and plant roots, or through chemical weathering, where rocks are dissolved or weakened by reactions with water, acids, and gases in the environment. Over time, these processes lead to the gradual fragmentation of rocks into smaller pieces.

Answer 3

This force is know as water. water will slip into the cracks of water and in the winter the water will freeze. Since water expands when it freezes, this causes the cracks to get bigger and bigger until the rock breaks apart.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

There are many ways. Some are abrasion, uplifting, exfoliation, root pry, and frost wedging.

Answer 6

Weathering and erosion breaks up rocks. Water and wind are agents of weathering and erosion.

Answer 7

the anser is water when it freeses it breakes apart the rock

Answer 8

by fregments

Answer 9

weathering causes rocks to break down into smaller pieces

Answer 10

Plants and animals