Formation of Sedimentary RocksLast Updated on Tue, 15 Mar 2016 | Geology
N^deS Sediments produced by weathering and erosion form sedimentary rocks through the process of lithification.
Real-World Reading Link Whenever you are outside, you might see pieces of broken rock, sand, and soil on the ground. What happens to this material? With one heavy rain, these pieces of broken rock, sand, and soil could be on their way to becoming part of a sedimentary rock.
Weathering and Erosion
Wherever rock is exposed at Earth's surface, it is continuously being broken down by weathering—a set of physical and chemical processes that breaks rock into smaller pieces. Sediments are small pieces of rock that are moved and deposited by water, wind, and gravity. When sediments become glued together, they form sedimentary rocks. The formation of sedimentary rocks begins when weathering and erosion produce sediments.
Weathering Weathering produces rock and mineral fragments known as sediments. These sediments range in size from huge boulders to microscopic particles. Chemical weathering occurs when the minerals in a rock are dissolved or otherwise cimicly changed. What happens to more-resistant minerals during weathering? While the less-stable minerals are chemically broken down, the more-resistant grains are broken off of the rock as smaller grains. During physical weathering, however, minerals remain chemically un changed.
