Types of Rocks
What are the three types of rocks?
Igneous rocks
Sedimentary rocks
Metamorphic rocks
The breaking down of minerals and rocks into small pieces (sediments)
Weathering
Middle layer below the crust; the thickest layer of the Earth
The Mantle
The slow movement of Earth's landmasses riding on continental and oceanic plates
Continental drift
A large, slow moving mass of ice
A glacier
A rock made from extreme pressure cementing, or gluing, tiny pieces of broken down rock together.
Sedimentary rock
The removal of soil by gravity, wind, and running water
Erosion
The hottest layer; made of solid iron and nickel
The Inner Core
The theory that the earth’s crust is broken into large plates that are in constant motion
Plate Techtonics
Scientists use these to provide information about life and conditions of the past. They are images left in rocks.
Fossils
A rock that has changed from one type of rock to another by great amounts of heat or pressure; may also have a swirled look or different colored bands.
Metamorphic rock
This is the term used to describe what happens to material that was carried away, or deposited, by erosion.
Deposition
This increases as the depth beneath the surface of the Earth increases.
Temperature and Pressure
The type of boundary formed where two tectonic plates come together
A convergent boundary
Fossils are usually found in this type of rock.
Sedimentary rock
Rocks that are usually found near volcanoes and are formed from the cooling and hardening of hot magma or lava.
Igneous rocks
The name of hot, melted rock before it exits a volcano.
Magma
The 4 main layers of the Earth
Crust
Mantle
Inner Core
Outer Core
The type of boundary formed when tectonic plates move apart
A divergent boundary
The term used when one plate gets pushed below another. The can form trenches and volcanoes.
Subduction
The addition of these is needed over time for a sedimentary rock to be changed into a metamorphic rock.
Thermal energy (heat) and pressure
The name for the process in which rocks are changing from one form to another and back again over many years
The rock cycle
This causes the movement of material within the Earth.
Thermal energy (heat) which creates a convection current
When the tectonic plates of the Earth slip or slide, or grind past each other, this boundary is formed.
A transform boundary
Millions of years ago, there was only one super continent.
What is Pangaea?