Water's ability to wear away solid rock is called?

• A. Erosion
• B. Eutrophication
• C. Weathering
• D. Dissolution

Answer: (A)

Water’s ability to wear away solid rock is erosion. Erosion involves the removal and transport of rock and sediment by moving water (or wind, ice), which is exactly what happens when rock is worn away and carried away. Weathering, by contrast, is the breakdown of rock in place without removing it from its location. Eutrophication is about nutrient enrichment and algal blooms, not rock removal, and dissolution refers to minerals dissolving chemically, which can contribute to erosion but doesn’t describe the general process of wearing away rock. So erosion best fits the idea of rock being worn away by water.