How do large, spheroidal boulders form from massive bedrock?
A)Exfoliation breaks a fresh, spherical block from the bedrock.
B)A fresh rock slab is broken out along sheeting fractures and then rounded by residual laterization.
C)An angular block, broken away from bedrock, gets rounded by rolling down a slope.
D)The corners and edges of fracture-bounded blocks are weathered faster than the planar areas of the fracture surfaces.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The corners and edges of fracture-bounded blocks weather faster due to their increased surface area exposure to weathering processes, leading to the gradual rounding of these blocks into spheroidal shapes. This process does not require the block to move or roll; rather, it is the differential weathering rates that contribute to the spheroidal shape.

How Do Large, Spheroidal Boulders Form from Massive Bedrock