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Rocks and Minerals

Weathering - The Breakup of Rocks

Weathering - The Breakup of Rocks
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   high interest, readability grades 6 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   4.99

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    oxidation, dissolve, mechanic, gravity, banks, roots, soil, cause, evidence, easily, physical, pressure, current, however, such, expand
     content words:    Grand Canyon, Colorado River

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Weathering - The Breakup of Rocks
By Patti Hutchison 		  
1     Air, water, ice, and gravity. These are nature's agents of weathering. Weathering is the breaking down of rocks on the earth's surface. This process has been going on since the earth was formed.
 
2     Have you seen pictures of the Grand Canyon? Do you know how it was formed? You guessed it- weathering. The water from the Colorado River carved the canyon through the rock around it. Evidence of weathering is all around us.
 
3     There are two kinds of weathering. The first is mechanical weathering. A mechanic uses tools to take your car apart. Nature uses tools such as ice and water to take rocks apart. This is also called physical weathering.
 
4     Mechanical weathering doesn't change what the rock is made of. It simply changes the size and shape of the rock. There are several ways a rock can be weathered physically.
 
5     Water and ice are common causes of weathering. Water collects in the cracks of rocks. When water freezes, it expands. This can cause the rocks to split apart. They break down into smaller rocks.

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