Exfoliation is a form of _________.

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### Explanation

- Exfoliation ("onion-skin" weathering) is the peeling or flaking of outer rock layers due to reduction in pressure (unloading), thermal expansion/contraction, and physical stresses.
- The process involves mechanical breakdown without chemical alteration of the rock minerals, so it is a form of physical (mechanical) weathering.
- It is not chemical weathering (no new minerals are formed), not mass wasting (which is downslope movement), and not biochemical (biologically driven chemical changes).

Therefore exfoliation corresponds to option $1$, i.e., physical weathering.

FINAL_ANSWER: a

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