Some types of rocks are more prone to spheroidal weathering. These include basalt, granite, dolerites, andesite and some sandstones. This is because these rocks contain minerals that are less chemically stable at the surface of the Earth, making them more susceptible to weathering.
Rocks and rock forms that tend to have joints and fractures are also more likely to be affected by spheroidal weathering. These cracks allow water to penetrate the rocks and expose more surface area, and the differential weathering caused by expanded joints will often lead to spherical rock forms on large and small scales.
Over the course of thousands of years, the interaction of chemical and physical weathering has created many interesting and distinctive spheroidal land forms on the crust of our planet. Look around next time you go hiking and see if you can find a rock shaped by spheroidal weathering.
*Source https://sciencing.com/definition-spheroidal-weathering-23142.html
How Does Spheroidal Weathering Work?
The term onion skin weathering helps explain how this process works. Due to a combination of physical and chemical factors, layers of rocks crack and fall off like layers of an onion in spheroidal weathering.
Weathering usually occurs from the outside of a rock toward the center. However, joints and fractures in rocks allow for water to enter. When water inside joints and fractures freezes, it expands and exerts pressure, pushing the rock apart. This particular process is called frost wedging or freeze-thaw weathering, a type of physical weathering.
*Source https://sciencing.com/definition-spheroidal-weathering-23142.html
E-mail me with your answers to the questions
1. Looking at the granite boulders describe the shape, size, and color.
2. Why is grainite more prone to spheroidal weathering?
3. Is spheroidal weathering chemical weathering or physical weathering?
4. (Optional) Take of photo of yourself the granite boulders behind you.