Item 4 4 of 14 Part B The major determining factor for the chemical break down o

Question

Item 4 4 of 14 Part B The major determining factor for the chemical break down of rocks is their chemical composition. For example, granite and basalt are both igneous rocks with different chemical composition and structure and, therefore, diferent weathering rates. Rocks with minerals that crystallize late in Bowen's reaction series, like granite, are usually more resistant to chemical weathering than those with minerals that crystallize early, like basalt Besides chemical composition, a secondary factor that affects the rate of weathering in such rocks is the amount of cracks/fractures present Rank the rocks in order of the rate of chemical weathering they would experience, assuming they are all located in the same warm wet climate. Rank from slowest to fastest. View Available Hint(s) Reset Help Basalt, with very few to no cracks. Basalt, with abundant vesicles (holes) Granite, with abundant cracks Granite, with very few or no cracks. Slowest chemical weathering Fastest chemical weathering

Explanation / Answer

Answer:(From slowest to fastest chemical weathering)

The answer is explained in the question summary itself but to sum it all up we need to understand that granite is one of the strongest and stable rocks we know and even if it has abundant cracks, its strength and stability will still be appreciably more than a basalt with no cracks.

However, if you compare the same rock but with a varying number fractures, vesicle and cracks, the rock with cracks, fracture and vesicles will weather faster since the surface area available for chemical weathering will be more.

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