As soon as the rocks are exposed, the weather begins to destroy them. Weather is the term used to describe the changing state of the atmosphere. Weather conditions such as sunshine, rain, snow, sleet, or hail cause changes in land forms and rocks. Weathering is a process by which rocks are changed due to exposure to the weather. Some of these changes are chemical changes while others are physical changes.
Chemical weathering causes chemical changes in the minerals of a rock.
It usually proceeds more rapidly in warm, moist climates. Physical weathering occurs when rocks are reduced to smaller fragments without being changed chemically and it is more likely to occur in cooler, more arid climates. Among the physical processes of weathering are ice, water, wind, and changes in temperature. The plants that grow upon the earth could not exist without the thin, loose surface layer we call soil. The weathering that results in the formation of this soil is due in large part to changes in temperature.