What is Weathering?

Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood

and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases,
and biological organisms.

What does water do? Water seeps into cracks in

the rocks, and, as the temperature drops below freezing, the water expands as ice in the
cracks. The expansion exerts tremendous pressure on the surrounding rock and acts like a
wedge, making cracks wider. After repeated freezing
and thawing of water, the rock breaks apart.

What does wind do?

Wind can cause weathering by blowing grains of sand against a rock, while rain
and waves cause weathering by slowly wearing rock away over long periods of
time.

What do plants do?

Plants and animals can be agents of mechanical weathering. The seed of a tree may sprout in soil
that has collected in a cracked rock. As the roots grow, they widen the cracks, eventually
breaking the rock into pieces. Over time, trees can break apart even large rocks.

What does temperature do?

The temperature of an object, usually measured in degrees-Fahrenheit or degrees-Celsius,
tells us how much heat, or energy, the object has.