Keyword Analysis & Research: meaning of weathering

The action of the elements of climate and weather, animals, and plants on the land surfaces to break them down biologically, chemically, and physically is called weathering. It is the breakdown and decay of rocks in situ. It can be a very elongated slow procedure, taking hundreds of years.

Weathering, or the wearing away of rock by exposure to the elements, not only creates perfectly smooth boulders, sinkholes to swim in, and caves to explore; it also eats away statues and buildings. Try it out on a sugar cube and feel how destructive weathering can be.

There are three types of weathering. These include: physical/mechanical weathering, when ice or salt crystal formation breaks rocks apart; chemical weathering, when acids dissolve rocks such as limestone; and biological weathering, when living organisms cause rocks to break apart. What are three causes of weathering?

Physical, or mechanical, weathering happens when rock is broken through the force of another substance on the rock such as ice, running water, wind, rapid heating/cooling, or plant growth. Chemical weathering occurs when reactions between rock and another substance dissolve the rock, causing parts of it to fall away.