Rocks & Processes
What process breaks rocks down into smaller pieces and moves them by wind, water, or ice?
Weathering and erosion.
Which rock type forms when magma or lava cools and solidifies?
Igneous rock.
When magma cools slowly underground, are the mineral grains typically large or small?
Large mineral grains.
Sedimentary rocks are changed to sediments by _____.
Weathering and erosion
________ brings rocks from deep in the crust to the surface. Tectonic plates are a part of this.
Uplift
Name the process that changes sediments into sedimentary rock by squeezing and sticking particles together.
Compaction and cementation.
What type of rock forms from sediments that are compacted and cemented together?
Sedimentary rock.
What is the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks in terms of grain size?
Intrusive rocks cool slowly underground and have larger crystals; extrusive rocks cool quickly at the surface and have smaller crystals.
Which of the following does NOT change rocks on Earth’s surface:
A) melting B) weathering C) deposition D) compaction
melting (A) — melting happens below the surface and creates magma.
This occurs when when particles dissolve in a liquid, such as magma.
crystallization
Which process turns solid rock into magma?
Melting.
What kind of metamorphic rock texture has visible layers or bands?
Foliated.
Choose the best answer from the lesson text: Igneous rocks form from _____ when it cools.
A) magma B) lava C) neither D) both
Both a and b (D) — both magma and lava can cool to form igneous rock.
A student models formation of an igneous rock by melting wax and letting it cool. Which procedure best demonstrates igneous rock formation?
Hold the lit candle over a small dish, and then let the melted candle wax that drops into the dish cool and harden.
What two forces (listed together) change rocks deep in Earth?
Heat and pressure.
Limestone, when changed by heat and pressure, becomes which metamorphic rock?
Marble.
Foliated rocks are distinguished by _____.
Their LAYERS
What causes the difference in grain size between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks?
Cooling rate — slow cooling underground makes larger crystals; fast cooling at the surface makes small crystals.
Explain briefly how the rock cycle would be affected if weathering did not happen on Earth.
Without weathering, rock would not break into sediments so sedimentary rocks would form much less; surface recycling would slow and many Earth-surface processes that need sediment would be disrupted.
Why are fossils most commonly found in sedimentary rocks rather than igneous rocks?
Sedimentary rocks form at low temperatures from buried sediments where organisms can be buried and preserved; igneous rocks form from molten material that would destroy fossils.
Metamorphic rock formation?
The deeper into Earth’s crust, the higher the pressure that forms metamorphic rocks.
Sam has three sets of wooden blocks labeled X, Y, Z to model weathering. Describe how Sam can arrange the blocks to model weathering and justify the choice.
Arrange one set as a large whole block (representing rock) and arrange another set as many small loose blocks or pieces (representing sediments). Explain that weathering breaks big rocks into smaller pieces over time by wind, water, and other forces; show movement or scattered arrangement to represent erosion and transport.