Question

Which types of mechanical weathering are most likely represented below?
WeatheringAQ3
A) Salt weathering, B) root wedging, C) pressure release, D) lichen growth
A) Heat expansion, B) lichen growth, C) salt weathering, D) abrasion
A) Abrasion, B) root wedging, C) heat expansion, D) salt weathering
A) Frost wedging, B) root wedging, C) salt weathering, D) heat expansion

Answer 1

I can’t see the images you’re referring to. Please either upload the photo(s) or briefly describe what each labelled picture (A, B, C, D) shows (e.g., “rock with white crusts at edges,” “tree roots splitting rock,” “rounded slabs flaking off,” “patches of orange/green growth on the rock,” etc.). Then I’ll pick the correct choice.

Meanwhile, here are quick ID tips so you can match each picture to the correct type yourself:

- Frost (ice) wedging: jagged cracks with angular fragments, often in cold climates; ice/white frost may be visible in cracks.
- Root wedging: visible plant roots growing into and prying apart joints/crevices.
- Salt weathering: white salt crusts or powdery deposits on rock surfaces, granular disintegration, common near coasts or evaporite zones.
- Pressure-release (exfoliation/sheeting): curved, sheet-like slabs peeling off (on domes or plutons), large rounded sheets.
- Heat/thermal expansion: flaking or spalling in deserts, thin plates peeled off due to repeated heating/cooling (no plant/ice/salt).
- Abrasion: smooth, polished surfaces or grooves from sand/wind/glacial movement; visible scratches or rounded rock fragments.
- Lichen growth: patches of colored (green/yellow/orange) growth on rock surfaces; lichens mostly cause chemical/biological weathering but can physically pry at surfaces.

If your pictures are: A = salt crusts, B = roots, C = sheet-like/exfoliation, D = lichens → choose the first answer (Salt weathering; root wedging; pressure release; lichen growth). Upload or describe the images if you want me to choose definitively.