Weathering

What is Weathering?

Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains Weathering. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.

Check that you can explain Weathering in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.

Understanding Weathering helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.

Weathering in detail

Weathering is the breakdown of rocks in place, without movement by a transport agent. Physical (mechanical) weathering includes freeze-thaw, where water in cracks freezes, expands and widens them, and exfoliation, where repeated heating and cooling cause outer layers to peel off.

Chemical weathering involves reactions, such as carbonation, where weak carbonic acid in rainwater dissolves limestone. Biological weathering is caused by plant roots and burrowing animals. The type depends on climate and rock type: freeze-thaw is common in cold, wet areas and chemical weathering is fast in warm, wet areas. Weathering produces material that can be eroded.

How the interactive helps you understand Weathering

Click a card to flip it and reveal the answer, then move on to the next one.

Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Weathering.

Real-life uses and examples

• Support an answer about Weathering with a named case study and specific evidence.
• Interpret a graph or map that shows Weathering and say what it suggests.
• Describe a real place where Weathering can be seen, using a map or photograph.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Writing general statements without a named place or example.
• Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain Weathering.
• Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.