When a rock with a crack in it gets filled with water, which freezes, expands the rock, and then melts, this process is called?

When a rock with a crack in it gets filled with water, which freezes, expands the rock, and then melts, this process is called?

• A. Erosion
• B. Frost Wedging
• C. Weathering
• D. Deposition

Answer: (B)

Water trapped in cracks expands when it freezes, pushing against the surrounding rock. When it melts, the pressure is released, but the crack has already been widened. Repeating this freeze-thaw cycle gradually pries the rock apart and can cause fragments to break off. This specific mechanism is frost wedging, a type of mechanical weathering driven by temperature changes and freezing water. It differs from erosion, which involves moving rock pieces away from the site, and from deposition, which is the laying down of sediments.

Water trapped in cracks expands when it freezes, pushing against the surrounding rock. When it melts, the pressure is released, but the crack has already been widened. Repeating this freeze-thaw cycle gradually pries the rock apart and can cause fragments to break off. This specific mechanism is frost wedging, a type of mechanical weathering driven by temperature changes and freezing water. It differs from erosion, which involves moving rock pieces away from the site, and from deposition, which is the laying down of sediments.