Which of the following represents the correct sequence in which denudation occurs?

Analyze the question You are asked for the correct order of the processes that make up denudation, which is the wearing away of the Earth's surface.

Explain the concept Denudation is the overall lowering and levelling of the land surface. It happens through three linked processes:

1. Weathering: the breakdown of rocks in place by physical, chemical, or biological action. Nothing is moved far in this stage.
2. Erosion: the removal and transport of the loosened rock material by agents such as running water, wind, ice, and waves.
3. Deposition: the dropping of the transported material in a new location, such as river floodplains, deltas, or dunes.

Step-by-step solution

• Rock must first be broken up before it can be carried away. So weathering comes first.
• The loosened material is then picked up and moved. So erosion comes second.
• When the agent loses energy (a river slows down, wind dies down, ice melts), the material is dropped. So deposition comes last.

Checking the options:

• A. weathering → erosion → deposition ✔ (logical order)
• B. Erosion before weathering is wrong, because there would be no loose material to erode.
• C. Deposition cannot come before erosion, because material must be transported before it can be deposited.
• D. "Disposition" is not a geographical process, and the order is also wrong.

Correct answer: A. weathering, erosion, and deposition

Exam tip: Remember W-E-D, like "Wednesday": Weathering, Erosion, Deposition. Break it, move it, drop it!