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Home > For Teachers
>Weathering Activity > Breaking Down Rocks
We are going to begin at the top - at the top of the land surface where rocks stick out of the ground and at the top of the rock cycle drawing at the box, 'Rocks at the Earth's surface'. Explore one of the ways that bare rocks are attacked by the weather - like this.
Breaking Down Rocks -- Weathering
What you will need: A margarine tub with smallish pieces of different sorts of rock (eg. granite, basalt, soft sandstone, chalk, limestone) or building material (eg. concrete, brick, cement block, slate, mortar)
The challenge: To find out which type falls apart the most after it has been frozen several times.
Try it this way: Put the bits of the rock in a plastic container (not a glass or china one - find out why later). Cover them with water and put them in the freezer or in the freezing compartment of the fridge. When the water is frozen, take it out and let it melt, then put it back in again. Do this several times.
What happens and
why: Which type of rock becomes most broken up? Why do you think this
is? What do you think will happen to a glass bottle of water if you put
it in the freezer? (Warning: if you try this, wrap the bottle carefully
in a plastic bag first). How could rocks outside be broken up by freezing
and thawing? Find out by looking at the answers at the end. This exploration
is DIY weathering.
- Be sure to check out our other activities dealing with weathering
Click here to view a complete list of activities that our site has to offer
The Rock Cycle Web Site
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This page was last updated on December 4, 2000
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