Rocks and the rock cycle Chapter 10.1

The beginning of rocks The Beginning of Rocks Magma is liquid rock produced deep in the earth and is the parent material for all rocks. Once magma hardens at or near the earth’s surface it begins to change, and is changed many times. Through studies of the crust and the forces and processes that act upon the rocks of the crust, scientists have classified rocks into three major types.

Three Major Types of Rocks (Igneous, Sedimentary, & Metamorphic) Three types of rocks Three Major Types of Rocks (Igneous, Sedimentary, & Metamorphic) Igneous Igneous rocks from when magma cools and hardens. The word igneous is derived from the Latin word meaning “from fire”.

Igneous

Sedimentary Sedimentary Sedimentary rock is formed from hardened deposits of sediments. Sediments are rock, minerals, and organic matter that have been carried away and deposited by water, ice, and wind.

Sedimentary Rock

Metamorphic Rock Metamorphic Rock Metamorphic rock is rock formed from other rocks as a result of intense heat, pressure, or chemical processes. Metamorphic means “changed form”.

Metamorphic rock

The Rock Cycle Rock Cycle Any of the three major types of rocks can be formed into another type over a period of time and processes. The rock cycle is a series of processes in which rock changes from one type to another and back again.

Rock cycle

Rock cycle For example, Igneous rocks are formed from cooled and hardened magma. Igneous rocks are then broken down into sediments through chemical and/or mechanical weathering. These sediments are compacted and hardened to form sedimentary rocks. Through high pressure and temperature sedimentary rocks can become metamorphic rock, and if the heat and pressure become more intense the metamorphic rock can become magma once again.

Rock cycle While all of the rocks in the earth’s crust have most likely passed through the complete rock cycle, rocks do not have to complete the rock cycle in any order, nor do rocks every have to go through all three rock types before returning to the first.