Kaitlyn Weyer PD.

3
Rock Cycle
1. Read each paragraph
2. Highlight in YELLOW the definition of the BOLD words
3. Highlight in PINK the process of how the rock are formed
4. Highlight in GREEN the types of rocks and the examples they give.
5. Answer the questions
1 To us the Earth seems unimaginably huge and solid. We jump on it, dig in it, drop bombs
on it, and rarely see any change. A boulder we see laying on the ground in the woods may
have been lying in that same place for thousands of years. Only the occasional earthquake,
volcanic eruption, or flood reminds us that the Earth is constantly changing.
2 Although the Earth seems solid to us, the part we live on is actually very thin. The
surface of the Earth, the crust, is like the skin of a balloon. Inside the Earth is molten
rock called magma that is in constant motion. The cool crust floats on this sea of liquid
rock and we rarely see what is happening inside. When pieces of the crust rub together
we feel an earthquake. When the crust cracks open the magma explodes or oozes out as
the lava of a volcano. As magma reaches the surface it cools and hardens into new,
young rock. Scientist call the new rock that forms from molten rock igneous rock.
Most of the Earth’s crust is made of igneous rock. Examples are granite, basalt, and
obsidian.

3 It’s not just the inside of the Earth that affects rocks. Rain and water wash over and rub
against the rocks. Over a very long time tiny particles that make up the rock are worn
away. This is called weathering. The particles are washed away with the water,
flowing downhill until they settle in the bottom of a pool or stream. After a heavy rain
you can often see erosion and gravel and sand left along the roadsides. A pond or lake
will often look muddy because there are so many tiny particles of rock and soil
suspended in the water. Eventually all these particles will fall to the bottom and build
up a layer of mud and sand. Year after year this layer gets thicker and thinker. These
layers of mud and sand are called sediments. The particles on the bottom are squeezed
together because of the weight of the mud and sand on top. Over thousands of years the
sediments are squeezed together so tightly that they form new rocks. These are call
sedimentary rocks because they are formed from the sediments in the bottom of a lake
or ocean. Sometimes tiny animals are buried in the sediments. They also harden and
turn into rock which we call fossils. Limestone, sandstone, and shale are examples of
sedimentary rocks.

4 Older sedimentary or igneous rock is often pushed down deep into the crust of the
Earth. The deeper it is pushed the more it heats up from the magma below and the
pressure from the weight above. If the heat and pressure become high enough, the
structure of the rock will change. The material in the rock will become harder and
sometimes crystallizes into a metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks include marble,
slate, and schist.

5 In time all rocks weather away and new rocks are created. This process of continuous
change is called a cycle. The rock cycle is one of the Earth’s basic cycles where rocks
go through a continuous change. We don’t notice it much because it happens so slowly.
The rock you pick up off the ground may be a billion years old and it may take another
billion years before it is recycled into some other kind of rock.
Kaitlyn Weyer PD.3

Rock Cycle Worksheet

Type of Rock Detailed explanation of how it formed Examples

1. Igneous When pieces of the crust rub together we Examples are granite, basalt, and
feel an earthquake. When the crust obsidian.
cracks open the magma explodes or
oozes out as the lava of a volcano. As
magma reaches the surface it cools and
hardens into new, young rock. Scientists
call the new rock that forms from molten
rock igneous rock
2. Sedimentary The particles on the bottom are squeezed Limestone, sandstone, and shale are
together because of the weight of the examples of sedimentary rocks.
mud and sand on top. Over thousands of
years the sediments are squeezed together
so tightly that they form new rocks.
These are call sedimentary rocks
because they are formed from the
sediments in the bottom of a lake or
ocean.
3. Metamorphic Older sedimentary or igneous rock is Metamorphic rocks include marble,
often pushed down deep into the crust of slate, and schist.
the Earth. The deeper it is pushed the
more it heats up from the magma below
and the pressure from the weight above.
If the heat and pressure become high
enough, the structure of the rock will
change. The material in the rock will
become harder and sometimes
crystallizes into a metamorphic rock.

Term Definition
4. Magma Hot fluid or semifluid material below or within the earth's crust from which lava
and other igneous rock is formed on cooling.
5. Weathering The process of wearing or being worn by long exposure to the atmosphere.

6. Sediments Particulate matter that is carried by water or wind and deposited on the surface of
the land or the bottom of a body of water and may in time become consolidated
into rock.
7. Fossils The remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or
as a mold or cast in rock.
8. Rock Cycle an idealized cycle of processes undergone by rocks in the earth's crust, involving
igneous intrusion, uplift, erosion, transportation, deposition as sedimentary rock,
Kaitlyn Weyer PD.3
metamorphism, remelting, and further igneous intrusion.

9. What are the 3 examples from paragraph 1 that remind us that the Earth is constantly changing?
Occasional earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or floods.
10. In complete sentences explain the following:
What is the main idea of this text? Give two examples from the text and explain how they support the main
idea.
The main idea of the text is about the Rock Cycle. One example of how I know this is in paragraph 2, it says
the Magma cools into a solid rock called Igneous rock. The second example of how I know this is in paragraph
3, it says that Weathering wears away other rock and sand then blows those pieces at the bottom of a river,
lake, ocean etc…then when those particles of sand and rock are there they harden with mud and get turned
into Sedimentary rocks.

11. Write a paragraph about the Rock Cycle using the space below. I have started this for you.
You must use all the words, and you can reuse words as many times as you need to. Try your best

Magma Cooling Melting

Igneous Rock Heat & Pressure Weathering & Erosion
Metamorphic Rock Melting Heat & Pressure
Weathering & Erosion Compaction & Cementation Sediments
Sedimentary Rock Weathering & Erosion

Create Paragraph Here:

One of the types of rock in the rock cycle is igneous rock, which comes from magma or lava after it continues
to cool down. Other rocks that are melting cools down with it to also create Igneous rocks. A second type of
rock in the rock cycle is sedimentary rocks, the sediments are formed from Weathering & Erosion. When
little pieces of other rock, and sand get blown into a body of water, over years it compacts, and cements it
into a solid rock (sediments). The third type of rock in the rock cycle is Metamorphic Rock. The
Metamorphic rock is made from either/both igneous rock, and sedimentary rocks. When the sediments and
igneous rocks are melting away, they are done cooling and all that immense heat & pressure makes a
metamorphic rock.
Kaitlyn Weyer PD.3