What is the difference between Chemical and Mechanical Weathering?

Rocks may decompose or dissolve and, at the same time, changes in composition through a certain chemical process to form residual materials. This change is called chemical weathering. Three ordinary chemical processes are involved in chemical weathering: dissolution or dissolving from water or rain, oxidation or rusting from oxygen, and hydrolysis when certain minerals and water form another product like clay.

On the other hand, mechanical weathering transpires when rocks disintegrate or break down into smaller pieces through physical forces, including exfoliation, abrasion, and freeze and thaw weathering. Exfoliation occurs when rock sheds off sheets that form by putting pressure on the rock through natural causes such as tectonic activities.

Abrasion occurs when rock surfaces weather and removes layers of it through friction, and the rock breaks down, which causes it to decrease in size. In freeze and thaw weathering, water thaws, and it allows for more space water to sink inside the aperture, and then it freezes again until the time that rock breaks along such fracture, causing the rock to diminish into smaller fragments.

Weathering can be defined as a gradual or ongoing transformation of rocks that expose on the earth's surface. It occurs naturally and also occurs with the help of other natural forces. Weathering can also be regarded as another part of erosion. Two types of weathering occur with a human intervention, which includes chemical weathering and mechanical weathering.

Chemical weathering includes chemical for rock formation, chemical weathering categories rocks into dissolution, oxidation, hydrolysis, and carbonation. Its transformation occurs in these two processes in which chemical that acid rain delivers or when rock forms in riverbank get washed down by chemical from chemical factories.

Chemical weathering causes a rock to lose its original formation into a new one. Mechanical weathering involves external factor force that breaks rocks into small pieces. This external factor includes abrasion, exfoliation, freeze, and thaw.

Chemical and mechanical weathering are known to be types of weathering that can change a type of rock into something that is completely different. Sometimes this can also be used to make the figure into something that is completely new from what it used to be. Chemical weathering will require the use of chemicals to ensure that rock transformation will be made properly.

For mechanical, this would still require pressure so that the rocks can be changed into something else. Take note that there are different categories that are available for chemical weathering while for mechanical weathering, the only pressure is needed to ensure that weathering will take place.