After a long period of time, these small pieces of rocks will become soil. Raise your hand if you can think of something that would be strong enough to break a mountain into smaller pieces. Water that seeps into the cracks freezes and makes the cracks bigger and bigger until they split into pieces. The breaking of rocks into smaller pieces is called weathering. Yes, the wind and water break down mountains and rocks into smaller and smaller particles that settle on the earth as soil.
Some plants grow in soil that has collected in the cracks of rocks.
The plant roots push on the rocks as the plants grow. Animals and even people can change rocks. Animals make places for weathering to happen. For instance, some animals make tunnels in the ground which loosens rocks and soil. Their tunnels allow air and water to move deeper into the ground.