What term describes the breaking down of rocks and other materials on the Earth's surface?

• A. Erosion
• B. Deposition
• C. Metamorphic rock
• D. Weathering

Answer: (D)

Weathering describes how rocks and other materials are broken down at or near the Earth's surface. It includes mechanical processes like frost wedging and abrasion, and chemical processes like dissolution and oxidation, which reduce rock to smaller pieces and dissolved minerals. This happens in place, gradually creating soil and regolith. Erosion, by contrast, is the removal and transport of those weathered particles by wind, water, ice, or gravity. Deposition is what happens after transport when sediments settle out and accumulate. Metamorphic rock is rock that has been transformed by heat and pressure deep within the Earth, not the surface breakdown you’re describing. So the term that best fits breaking down rocks and materials on the surface is weathering.