Rocks and the Rock Cycle

• Rocks are made of one or more minerals

• They're grouped based on how they form

• They continuously change through processes like melting, erosion, and pressure

What are rocks?

Notes: Rocks are made of minerals and are grouped by how they form.

1. Cut out the big table and glue it into your books

2. Cut out the small pieces and keep them close by

3. As we learn about each of the rock types, glue the information into their correct location

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• Form when molten rock (magma or lava) cools and solidifies

• Types of igneous rock:

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• Intrusive: Cool slowly inside Earth, e.g. granite

• Extrusive: Cool quickly on Earth's surface, e.g. basalt

• Formed when sediments (small rock pieces, minerals, or organic matter) are compressed over time.

• How they form:

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1. Weathering and erosion create sediment

2. Sediment is transported and deposited in layers

3. Layers are compressed and cemented into rock

From sand

Sandstone

From mud

Shale

From shells

Limestone

• Formed when existing rocks are changed by heat and pressure. The process does not melt the rock but changes the structure and minerals inside it.

• They can start as igneous, sedimentary, or another metamorphic rock.

• Limestone -> Marble

• Shale -> Slate

The Rock Cycle

The main processes of the rock cycle include:

• Melting - rock melts into magma

• Cooling - magma cools to form igneous rock

• Weathering / Erosion - rocks break into sediment

• Compaction / Cementation - sediments form sedimentary rock

• Heat / Pressure - rocks become metamorphic rocks

Activity: The Rock Cycle

1. Cut out this image (do not worry about the word bank below) and glue it into your books

2. Using the word bank as help, try to fill in the blanks