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Weak acids seep into the ground until they reach a zone soaked with water. As the ground water become more acidic, it dissolves calcite and other minerals in the rock. Over time, the action of the acidic water produces holes in the rock. The holes grow, creating passages, chambers, and pits, and eventually become caves.

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Water causes what type of weathering?

Water causes mechanical and chemical weathering.


Weathering by abrasion is usually caused by?

Wind-blown sand causes Mechanical Weathering of rocks by abrasion


Is root wedging a form of chemical weathering?

Root wedging is a form of mechanical weathering, not chemical weathering. It occurs when tree roots grow into cracks in rocks, applying pressure that causes the rock to break apart over time. Chemical weathering involves the breakdown of rocks through chemical reactions, such as oxidation or dissolving.


What is the natural process that causes rock to breakdown?

Weathering from mechanical and chemical means is the process that causes rocks to become smaller and smaller; wind, rain, the sun, the freeze/thaw cycle, moving glaciers, chemical reactions, and gravity are some of the causes of weathering.


Explain the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering?

Mechanical weathering is the breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces without altering their chemical composition, usually by processes such as frost wedging or root expansion. Chemical weathering, on the other hand, involves changes in the chemical composition of rocks due to reactions with substances like water, acid rain, or oxygen, leading to the breakdown of minerals.


What is mechanical wearthering?

Mechanical weathering is the process of weathering that causes disintegration in rocks but does not change the chemical compound of the rocks. Things like frost, rivers, and tree roots cause mechanical weathering. A large example of this would be the Grand Canyon in Arizona.


Is frost action mechanical or chemical weathering?

Frost action is a type of mechanical weathering. It occurs when water seeps into cracks in rocks, freezes, expands, and causes the rock to break apart.


Is glacier action chemical weathering or mechanical weathering?

Glacier action involves primarily mechanical weathering, as the movement of glaciers causes rocks to break apart through the physical forces of compression and abrasion. However, chemical weathering can also occur in glacial environments through processes like freeze-thaw cycles and the introduction of chemical substances from the ice.


What causes physical weathering but not chemical weathering?

Physical weathering is caused by mechanical forces such as temperature changes, frost wedging, and abrasion, while chemical weathering involves the breakdown of rock through chemical reactions like oxidation and hydrolysis. Physical weathering does not change the chemical composition of the rock, whereas chemical weathering alters the mineral structure.


How does climate effect mechanical weathering?

Mechanical weathering refers to weathering that causes physical erosion of exposed rock without changing its chemical composition. Climate helps promote or prevent things like frost and wind that create this form of weathering.


What is one difference between chemical and mechanical weathering?

Chemical weathering is the breaking down of a rock on a minute level, like the solution of minerals. Mechanical weathering is the breaking down of a rock, sometimes causing a crack through an entire strata, resulting in mass movement; but mostly mechanical weathering is as a result of a factor which causes the rock to physically separate.


Is chemical weathering when rocks break apart by wind frost and roots?

No. That is mechanical weathering. Weathering by sand or other matter carried in the wind is a special kind of mechanical weathering called aolean weathering. Weathering by acid rain is an example of chemial weathering. Limestone is particularly subject to this. Illegibility of tombstones in old garveyards provide a good illustration of this.