Weathering breaks down and loosens the surface minerals of rock so they can be transported away by agents of erosion such as water, wind and ice. There are two types of weathering: mechanical and chemical. Mechanical weathering is the disintegration of rock into smaller and smaller fragments.
Which is an example of mechanical weathering?
During mechanical weathering, no new substances are produced. The rock gets smaller, but it stays the same kind of rock. For example, water sometimes gets into the tiny cracks in boulders. If that water freezes, it expands, opening the crack even more and eventually splitting the rock into pieces.