GCSE Geography | Weathering, the Breakdown of Rocks and Minerals

Geography Quiz - Weathering (Questions)

In this GCSE Geography quiz on weathering you will explore how rock is broken down by physical, chemical, and biological processes that slowly change landscapes over time.

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Fascinating Fact:

Biological weathering is caused by living organisms, such as plant roots forcing their way into cracks or animals burrowing.

In GCSE Geography, weathering explains how rocks are broken down in their original place without being moved. You study how physical, chemical, and biological processes gradually weaken rock, create loose material, and prepare landscapes for erosion. Understanding weathering helps you explain features such as scree slopes, rock pavements, and the early stages of soil development in different environments.

Key Terms

Weathering: The breakdown of rock in its original place by physical, chemical, or biological processes.
Mechanical weathering: Weathering that breaks rock into smaller pieces without changing its chemical composition, for example freeze-thaw action.
Chemical weathering: Weathering that changes the minerals in rock, for example when acidic rainwater dissolves limestone.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is weathering in GCSE Geography?

In GCSE Geography, weathering is the process that breaks down rock where it is, using physical, chemical, or biological actions, without moving the material to a new place.

What are the three main types of weathering?

The three main types of weathering are mechanical (physical) weathering, chemical weathering, and biological weathering, each working in different ways to weaken and break rock apart.

How is weathering different from erosion?

Weathering breaks rock down in its original place, while erosion transports weathered material away using agents such as rivers, wind, ice, or the sea to new locations.

Try These Related Quizzes

Weathering is normally studied as the first stage in a two stage process - weathering and erosion. What is the key difference between weathering and erosion?

[ ]	Weathering is in situ (in one place), whilst erosion involves moving material away
[ ]	Weathering is destructive, whilst erosion forms structures
[ ]	Erosion is the removal of material, whilst weathering is the placing of material
[ ]	Weathering is only caused by climate (e.g. rain and ice), whilst erosion is caused by all other destructive forces

What are the three types of weathering?

[ ]	Mechanical, physical, stress
[ ]	Biological, stress, macro
[ ]	Chemical, biological, physical
[ ]	Macro, micro, massive

In temperate regions freeze-thaw weathering, also known as frost shattering, is a major source of weathering. What are the conditions required for freeze-thaw weathering to occur?

[ ]	Temperatures below freezing allowing ice to form
[ ]	Day time temperatures hot enough to crack rocks and night time temperatures cold enough to shrink rocks and so widen these cracks
[ ]	Large amounts of water that can seep into rocks and be available to freeze
[ ]	High diurnal (daily) temperate range, with night time temperatures below freezing point, and day time temperatures consistently above freezing. Water available to freeze in cracks in the rocks

How does freeze-thaw weathering occur?

[ ]	Ice forms and builds up night after night. As the ice builds up on the face of the ice block it forces the rocks apart
[ ]	Cracks in rock fill with water. When the temperature falls ice forms and expands, widening the crack. When the temperature rises the ice melts and water seeps deeper into cracks to repeat the cycle
[ ]	The rocks themselves freeze during the night and thaw during the day. This eventually cracks the rocks
[ ]	Freezing rivers push back on their banks and expand the width of the river

Areas such as Scotland have large amounts of freeze-thaw weathering but why doesn’t freeze-thaw weathering occur in very cold locations such as the Polar regions?

[ ]	The temperature range rarely comes above freezing meaning that there is no water available to seep deeper into the rocks to further expand the crack
[ ]	There is no night and day cycle so there isn’t a temperature range
[ ]	The water is salt water which can’t freeze
[ ]	The rock types are too tough to be weathered by this method

Which of the following is not an example of physical weathering?

[ ]	Hydration
[ ]	Freeze-thaw weathering
[ ]	Exfoliation
[ ]	Salt crystal growth

Which of the following types of weathering has the correct label attached?

[ ]	The sun heating rocks and causing them to expand and crack - chemical weathering
[ ]	Tree roots forcing their way into cracks in rocks and forcing them wider - biological weathering
[ ]	Acid rain dissolving limestone rocks - physical weathering
[ ]	Waves breaking down cobbles into sand - biological weathering

Rocks containing iron often show a red colouration. This is a type of chemical weathering. What is occurring to make the rocks turn red?

[ ]	Iron compounds within the rock structure are oxidising in the same way ferrous metals rust
[ ]	The red colouration was naturally there and the weathering exposes the colour
[ ]	The rock is taking up the red colour from the soil and these are exposed by chemical weathering
[ ]	Copper compounds in the rocks are oxidised to form this red colour

Which of the following is not a reason for tropical areas having higher rates of weathering than temperate zones?

[ ]	A large amount of rainfall leads to increased weathering
[ ]	Large amounts of vegetation lead to increased biological weathering
[ ]	Great forces of wave action on the coastal zone lead to increased weathering
[ ]	Being closer to the equator there are higher temperatures leading to higher rates of chemical weathering

10.

When rocks are heated and expand, and then cool and contract, thin slivers of rock tend to flake off at the surface. What is the name given to this weathering process?

[ ]	Freeze-thaw weathering
[ ]	Erosion
[ ]	Pavementing
[ ]	Exfoliation

Geography Quiz - Weathering (Answers)

Weathering is normally studied as the first stage in a two stage process - weathering and erosion. What is the key difference between weathering and erosion?

[x]	Weathering is in situ (in one place), whilst erosion involves moving material away
[ ]	Weathering is destructive, whilst erosion forms structures
[ ]	Erosion is the removal of material, whilst weathering is the placing of material
[ ]	Weathering is only caused by climate (e.g. rain and ice), whilst erosion is caused by all other destructive forces

When rock has been weakened and broken up by weathering, erosion can then occur. Erosion happens when material is moved to another place by water, gravity, ice or wind

What are the three types of weathering?

[ ]	Mechanical, physical, stress
[ ]	Biological, stress, macro
[x]	Chemical, biological, physical
[ ]	Macro, micro, massive

The three types of weathering are broadly grouped into chemical, biological (also called organic) and physical (also called mechanical)

In temperate regions freeze-thaw weathering, also known as frost shattering, is a major source of weathering. What are the conditions required for freeze-thaw weathering to occur?

[ ]	Temperatures below freezing allowing ice to form
[ ]	Day time temperatures hot enough to crack rocks and night time temperatures cold enough to shrink rocks and so widen these cracks
[ ]	Large amounts of water that can seep into rocks and be available to freeze
[x]	High diurnal (daily) temperate range, with night time temperatures below freezing point, and day time temperatures consistently above freezing. Water available to freeze in cracks in the rocks

This is a great question if you get it in the exam. The clue is in the name - freezing and thawing needs temperatures low enough to freeze and high enough to thaw the ice back to water

How does freeze-thaw weathering occur?

[ ]	Ice forms and builds up night after night. As the ice builds up on the face of the ice block it forces the rocks apart
[x]	Cracks in rock fill with water. When the temperature falls ice forms and expands, widening the crack. When the temperature rises the ice melts and water seeps deeper into cracks to repeat the cycle
[ ]	The rocks themselves freeze during the night and thaw during the day. This eventually cracks the rocks
[ ]	Freezing rivers push back on their banks and expand the width of the river

Think of the things freeze-thaw weathering requires: diurnal temperature range, available water and cracks in the rocks. This is so the water can fill the cracks and, as ice forms, expand

Areas such as Scotland have large amounts of freeze-thaw weathering but why doesn’t freeze-thaw weathering occur in very cold locations such as the Polar regions?

[x]	The temperature range rarely comes above freezing meaning that there is no water available to seep deeper into the rocks to further expand the crack
[ ]	There is no night and day cycle so there isn’t a temperature range
[ ]	The water is salt water which can’t freeze
[ ]	The rock types are too tough to be weathered by this method

The polar regions are also known as the polar deserts. They are so cold that all the fresh water and a huge amount of the salt water is tied up as ice and never thaws. This means that there is no liquid water to allow freeze-thaw weathering

Which of the following is not an example of physical weathering?

[x]	Hydration
[ ]	Freeze-thaw weathering
[ ]	Exfoliation
[ ]	Salt crystal growth

Hydration is a chemical process where certain rocks absorb water into their structure. It is a type of chemical weathering

Which of the following types of weathering has the correct label attached?

[ ]	The sun heating rocks and causing them to expand and crack - chemical weathering
[x]	Tree roots forcing their way into cracks in rocks and forcing them wider - biological weathering
[ ]	Acid rain dissolving limestone rocks - physical weathering
[ ]	Waves breaking down cobbles into sand - biological weathering

Biological weathering is sometimes classified as a type of physical weathering, but anything done by living things can be classified as biological weathering

Rocks containing iron often show a red colouration. This is a type of chemical weathering. What is occurring to make the rocks turn red?

[x]	Iron compounds within the rock structure are oxidising in the same way ferrous metals rust
[ ]	The red colouration was naturally there and the weathering exposes the colour
[ ]	The rock is taking up the red colour from the soil and these are exposed by chemical weathering
[ ]	Copper compounds in the rocks are oxidised to form this red colour

Iron is one of the major elements found in many types of rock