The Rock Cycle What is a rock What
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The Rock Cycle
What is a rock?
What is a rock? �A rock is a naturally formed, consolidated material composed of grains of one or more minerals.
When you look closely, the sparkles you see are individual crystals of minerals.
What is the difference between a rock & a mineral? � Minerals are solid, naturally occurring, inorganic, have a fixed composition and are made of one or more elements. � Rocks are made of one or more minerals.
Made of elements Must be inorganic Made only of compounds Elements must be chemically bonded Naturally occurring Solid Can be made of lava/ magma Have crystals Can be formed from solutions Can be made from organic materials Mixtures made of minerals
Why are rocks important? �Our houses stand on them �Our roads are made of them �They are a link to the formation of the Earth �We use the minerals in them for everything! �There would be a lot of unemployed geologists without them
In rock, paper, scissors…
The Rock Cycle
In the Rock Cycle, there are 3 types of rocks. What are they? !
A rock is born… Igneous Rock Kid Rock
The Rock Cycle Igneous- rock that has solidified from magma Igneous means “born of fire”
The EARTH’S elements Won’t leave the poor rock alone!
• Ice • wind • Water ice wind water
They break up the stone
Sedimentary rock- formed from… �consolidation of sediment of any type
Erosion and compression… Sedimentary Rock Eroded Kid Rock
What happens next?
Burial leads to increases in… � Temperature and pressure!
Bands (can) form Metamorphic means “changed”
Metamorphism… The transformation of a rock into a texturally or mineralogically distinct rock, without the rock completely melting
Metamorphism Metamorphic rock Chris Rock
Rocks
The rock cycle is driven by… � Earth’s internal and external heat engines (continuously)