In August of 2004, Hurricane Charley removed over six feet of sand from the beach at St. Augustine. Was that an example of erosion, weathering, both, or neither?

1. Erosion

   Yes! This is an example of erosion. The sand was moved by wind and water.

   The term "weathering" causes confusion because it sounds like it has something to do with weather. In Earth Science, weathering means "breaking apart." Weathering breaks rocks apart. Erosion carries the pieces of rock to a different location.

2. Weathering

   No. While this was caused by weather, it is not an example of weathering. Keep in mind that weathering means breaking down rocks into smaller pieces. The sand was not broken into smaller pieces. It was just moved from one place to another (erosion).

3. Both erosion and weathering

   No. This was erosion, but not weathering.

4. Neither erosion nor weathering

   No. Since the sand was moved, it was erosion.

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