Which term describes the break down rocks due to physical or chemical means?

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

Answer: (A)

Weathering is the breakdown of rocks by physical or chemical processes, happening in place on or near the surface. It includes mechanical actions like freeze-thaw cycles, abrasion, and root wedging, which physically fracture rock, as well as chemical changes such as dissolution or oxidation that alter minerals. This distinguishes weathering from erosion, which is about moving the resulting material away by water, wind, ice, or gravity, and from deposition, which is the laying down of sediments. An example is rainwater slightly acidic dissolving minerals in limestone, or water seeping into cracks and freezing, forcing the rock apart. Evolving isn’t a term used to describe this geological flow, so it doesn’t fit.