Final answer:
Oxidation is not a cause of mechanical or physical weathering. It is a chemical weathering process that involves the reaction of minerals with oxygen and water, unlike mechanical weathering processes like abrasion, plant growth, and frost wedging.
Step-by-step explanation:
To answer the student's question, oxidation is not a cause of mechanical or physical weathering; rather, it is a chemical weathering process. Mechanical or physical weathering includes processes that physically break down rocks without changing their chemical composition. Examples of mechanical weathering include abrasion by wind and water, the growth of plants that can cause rocks to break apart, and frost wedging, where water seeps into cracks, freezes, and expands, causing the rock to split.
Oxidation, on the other hand, involves a chemical reaction where the minerals in rocks react with oxygen and water, leading to changes in the rock's mineral composition. This type of weathering can lead to rust formation on rocks containing iron. Although all these processes contribute to the breakdown of rocks into smaller particles, only oxidation does so through a change in the rock's chemistry.