EARTH MATERIALS AND

PROCESSES:
EXOGENIC PROCESSES (WEATHERING AND
EROSION)

Rhenn B. Songco
OBJECTIVES:
1. Describe how rocks undergo weathering (S11/12ES-IB-11)
1.1 Differentiate the types of weathering
WEATHERING

It is the mechanical
and chemical
hammer that breaks down
and sculpts the rock.
TWO TYPES OF WEATHERING

Physical Weathering
-also known as mechanical weathering
-refers to the breakdown of rocks
without a change in its composition
TWO TYPES OF WEATHERING

Chemical Weathering
-it is the decomposition of rocks due to chemical reactions
occurring between the minerals in rocks and the environment
-transforms rocks and minerals exposed
to water and gases in the atmospheres
into new chemical compounds thus,
forming different rocks and minerals.
PROCESSES THAT CAN CAUSE PHYSICAL
WEATHERING
• Thermal and Pressure Change
• Wind and waves
• Freeze and Thaw
• Organic activity
THERMAL AND PRESSURE CHANGE

- repeated heating and cooling of materials cause

rigid substances to crack and separate
WIND AND WAVES

- Moving sediments or rock

sections can break off pieces
from a rock surface they strike.
- The sediments can be moved
by wind and waves.
FREEZE AND THAW
- When water collects in the rock pores and slits, it
expands when it freezes. The freezing creates cracks.
- When the ice thaws, the water seeps into new
cracks and causes more cracks as it freezes.
ORGANIC ACTIVITY

Ex. Plant Growth – as plants such as trees send out

root systems, the fine roots find their way into cracks in
the rocks. As the roots increase in size, they force the
rock sections apart, increasing the separation and
weathering.
PROCESSES THAT CAN CAUSE CHEMICAL
WEATHERING
• Hydration/Hydrolysis
• Carbonation
• Oxidation
HYDRATION/HYDROLYSIS
Minerals may chemically
combine with water
to form new
minerals.
Again these are
generally not as
hard as the original
material.
Feldspar Kaolinite
(Clay)
CARBONATION

• Carbon dioxide dissolves in rain water and produces

Carbonic acid.
OXIDATION

Minerals may combine with oxygen to form new

minerals that are not as hard. For example, the iron-
containing mineral pyrite forms a rusty-colored
mineral called limonite.

Pyrite Limonite
EROSION

• Involves the movement of the weathered rock (now

soil, sand or pebble) from their site of weathering by
the agents of erosion such as WIND, MOVING
WATER, ICE and GRAVITY.
• Weathering does not always occur before erosion.
Erosion always follows after the weathering.