These are some definitions that you may want to remember from class that will help you with understanding this lesson
Rocks come in many size, shapes, and colors! No two rocks are the same and many people like to collect rocks. There are three types of rocks that geologist like to classify by the way that they were formed.
Igneous rocks form when magma or lava cools.
There are two types of Igneous rocks
INTRUSIVE
-These igneous rocks form below earths surface and the magma cools slowly. This leads to the rocks having larger mineral crystals.
EXTRUSIVE
- These igneous rocks form from molten rock that is ejected from volcanos and then it cools rapidly at earths surface. This leads to the rocks having small mineral crystals.
Sedimentary rocks are formed from compaction and cementation of sediments. This video helps to explain the process in a simple way.
Metamorphic rocks are rocks that are transformed by heat and pressure deep underground. The rocks go through bending, compression, and streching. They are not completely melted back into magma. An example of this would be slate or marble.
The rock cycle is the slow transformation of rocks by heating, melting, cooling, breaking down, and reassembling. Any type of rock, through a process, can become any other type of rock. A rock is any solid arrangement of minerals.
Click on the picture above to explore a website that will help further explain the rock cycle!
Here is a short video that helps to visualize the rock cycle!
The rock cycle is a model of creation and transformation of rocks from one form (sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic) to another. Rock families are determined by the origin and transformations of the rock.
5.4.6.C.2
Distinguish physical properties of sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rocks and explain how one kind of rock could eventually become a different kind of rock.
