What are the agents of mechanical weathering?

The important agents of mechanical weathering are:

• The decrease in pressure that results from removal of overlying rock.
• Freezing and thawing of water in cracks in the rock.
• Formation of salt crystals within the rock.
• Cracking from plant roots and exposure by burrowing animals.

Is acid rain chemical or mechanical weathering?

Chemical Weathering — Acid Rain One of the best-known forms of chemical weathering is acid rain. Acid rain forms when industrial chemicals are converted to acids by reacting with water and oxygen in the atmosphere.

What is a more powerful weathering agent than water?

changes the materials that are part of a rock into new materials. water. _____________________is an important agent of chemical weathering because most substances dissolve in water. acid. __________________is a more powerful weathering agent than water.

What are the 2 types of mechanical weathering?

Earth scientists often divide mechanical weathering into two major categories: fracturing, which includes frost- and salt-wedging, and abrasion, such as sandblasting.

What are five examples of physical weathering?

These examples illustrate physical weathering:

• Swiftly moving water. Rapidly moving water can lift, for short periods of time, rocks from the stream bottom.
• Ice wedging. Ice wedging causes many rocks to break.
• Plant roots. Plant roots can grow in cracks.

What is the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering?

Mechanical weathering breaks rocks into smaller pieces without changing their composition. Chemical weathering breaks down rocks by forming new minerals that are stable at the Earth’s surface. Water, carbon dioxide, and oxygen are important agents of chemical weathering.

What type of weathering is acid rain?

Chemical weathering describes the chemicals in rainwater making changes to the minerals in a rock. Carbon dioxide from the air is dissolved in rainwater making it slightly acidic. A reaction can occur when the rainwater comes into contact with minerals in the rock, causing weathering.

What is an example of physical weathering?

Physical Weathering in Nature. When water in a river or stream moves quickly, it can lift up rocks from the bottom of that body of water. As ice forms in the cracks of a street, the water expands and pushes against the surrounding rock, making the cracks wider, eventually breaking apart the rock.

What causes mechanical weathering?

Mechanical weathering is weathering caused by the breaking down of rocks by physical force without any change in the chemical nature of the rocks. Mechanical weathering is usually caused by extreme hot and cold temperatures. Water seeps into cracks in rocks, freezes, and expands, causing further breakdown of rocks.

Why does Marble weather faster than granite?

Less rain means less carbonic acid and less carbonic acid means less chemical weathering. This would lead to more mechanical weathering of marble than of granite because of the differences in the hardness of their constituent minerals.