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Explore how rocks are recycled and transformed over millions of years, creating the diverse types of rocks found on Earth. Discover the three main rock types: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, and learn how they form and change. Uncover the secrets of Earth's history through the study of sedimentary rocks and fossils. Dive into the fascinating world of metamorphic rocks and understand their transformation process.
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The rock cycle Understanding how the Earth recycles materials and creates new “stuff” from the old “stuff”
What is the rock cycle? • All rock (except for meteorites!) on Earth today is made of the same stuff as the rocks that dinosaurs and other ancient life forms walked, crawled or swam over. • While the stuff that rocks are made from stays the same, the rocks do not. Over millions of years, rocks are recycled into other rocks.
What are the three types of rocks in the rock cycle? • The three types of rocks are: • 1) Igneous • 2) Metamorphic • 3) Sedimentary
Igneous rock • Igneous rocks form when molten rock cools and becomes solid. • Molten rock is called magma when it is below the Earth’s surface and lava when it is above. • Igneous rocks are divided into two groups, based on where the rock forms. • Intrusive (or plutonic) Igneous Rocks: Igneous rocks that form below the Earth’s surface • They form when magma enters an underground chamber, cools very slowly, and forms rocks full of large crystals. • Extrusive Igneous Rocks: Igneous rocks that form above the Earth’s surface. • Also called volcanic rocks, these form when lava cools quickly at or above the Earth’s surface.
Sedimentary Rock • Sedimentary rocks make up about three-quarters of the rocks at the Earths surface. • They form at the surface in environments such as beaches, rivers, the ocean, and anywhere that sand, mud, and other types of sediment collect. • Sedimentary rocks preserve a record of the environments that existed when they formed. • By looking at sedimentary rocks of different ages, scientists can figure out how climate and environments have changed through Earth’s history. Fossils of ancient living things are preserved in sedimentary rocks too.
Metamorphic Rock • Have you have heard that caterpillars metamorphose into butterflies? Well, rocks can metamorphose too! They don't grow wings like a butterfly. But they do change! • Rocks metamorphose when they are in a place that is very hot and pressure is high. You can find such a place where Earth's tectonic plates are coming together. There, the colliding plates squish rocks, and hot pools of magma heat them deep underground.
