The breaking up of rocks by weathering processes such as rainfall and temperature change is known as what?

The breaking up of rocks by weathering processes such as rainfall and temperature change is known as what?

• A. Erosion
• B. Weathering
• C. Lithification
• D. Deposition

Answer: (B)

Weathering is the breakdown of rocks in place by physical and chemical actions, such as rain and temperature changes. Rainwater can promote chemical reactions that weaken minerals, while temperature fluctuations cause rocks to expand and contract, creating cracks that fragment them. This process happens without moving the material away, which is why it’s distinguished from erosion—the transport of broken material by wind, water, ice, or gravity. Lithification is the turning of sediments into rock, and deposition is the laying down of sediments in new locations. So the breaking up of rocks by weathering processes such as rainfall and temperature change is weathering.

Weathering is the breakdown of rocks in place by physical and chemical actions, such as rain and temperature changes. Rainwater can promote chemical reactions that weaken minerals, while temperature fluctuations cause rocks to expand and contract, creating cracks that fragment them. This process happens without moving the material away, which is why it’s distinguished from erosion—the transport of broken material by wind, water, ice, or gravity. Lithification is the turning of sediments into rock, and deposition is the laying down of sediments in new locations. So the breaking up of rocks by weathering processes such as rainfall and temperature change is weathering.