Which of the following processes describes the transformation of sediments into solid rock?

The process that transforms sediments into solid rock is lithification. This process involves several stages, primarily compaction and cementation. During compaction, the weight of overlying sediments compresses the deeper sediments, reducing pore spaces and expelling water. Cementation follows, where minerals precipitate from groundwater and fill in the remaining spaces between the compacted sediments, effectively binding them together to form solid rock, known as sedimentary rock.

Weathering refers to the breakdown of rocks and minerals at the Earth’s surface due to various factors, including physical breakdown and chemical alteration, but it does not involve the actual formation of solid rock from sediments. Carbonation is a specific chemical weathering process that involves the reaction of carbon dioxide with minerals, leading to the formation of carbonates, but it is not the process that forms rock from sediments. Metamorphism involves the alteration of existing rock (either sedimentary, igneous, or other metamorphic rocks) due to heat, pressure, or chemically active fluids, which transforms these rocks into metamorphic rocks rather than forming new rock types from sediments.