sediments
Weathering and erosion. Water, wind, ice, and even plants and animals all act to wear down rocks. Over time they can break larger rocks into smaller pieces called sediments. Moving water, wind, and glaciers then carry these pieces from one place to another. The sediments are eventually dropped, or deposited , somewhere. The sediments may then be compacted and cemented together. This forms a sedimentary rock. This whole process can take hundreds or thousands of years.