__________ is an example of mechanical weathering.

__________ is an example of mechanical weathering.

• A. Oxidation
• B. Weathering
• C. Hydration
• D. Exfoliation

Answer: (D)

Mechanical weathering is the physical breakdown of rocks without changing their mineral composition. Exfoliation is a type of mechanical weathering where outer layers peel away in sheets or slabs, like onion skin, often due to pressure release when overlying rock is removed or from repeated heating and cooling that causes expansion and contraction. The minerals inside remain the same, so no new chemical compounds form. By contrast, oxidation changes minerals chemically by reacting with oxygen, and hydration involves water chemically altering minerals, so those are chemical weathering processes. Weathering as a whole is the broad process that includes both mechanical and chemical changes, not a specific mechanism itself.

Mechanical weathering is the physical breakdown of rocks without changing their mineral composition. Exfoliation is a type of mechanical weathering where outer layers peel away in sheets or slabs, like onion skin, often due to pressure release when overlying rock is removed or from repeated heating and cooling that causes expansion and contraction. The minerals inside remain the same, so no new chemical compounds form. By contrast, oxidation changes minerals chemically by reacting with oxygen, and hydration involves water chemically altering minerals, so those are chemical weathering processes. Weathering as a whole is the broad process that includes both mechanical and chemical changes, not a specific mechanism itself.