Rock Cycle

Rock Cycle - Page Text Content

S: Rock Cycle

BC: The images used in this project are from Flickr.com and used under the Creative Commons license. The photographers are: Sol Young, Don Cornelius, Claire H., Salim Fadhley, Dan Foy, USFS, Amanda Slater, and Bryn Pinzgauer.

FC: The Rock Cycle by Arvenell H.

1: Rocks can be classified into three main categories, based on how they were formed. One type of rock can be changed into another type of rock through a series of changes. These changes give rise to what we call the "Rock Cycle."

2: Igneous | Granite is often used for countertops. Some surgical blades are made from obsidian. Basalt is used in road construction.

3: Igneous rocks are formed when magma (molten rock inside the earth) cools and hardens. The magma may cool inside the earth or it may erupt from volcanoes (it is then called lava). Igneous rock can be weathered and deposited to form sedimentary rock.

4: Sedimentary | Older gravestones are made of sandstone. Coal is used to provide electricity. Chalk is made of limestone.

5: This type of rock is formed when any type of rock is exposed to weathering (due to rain, wind, snow, ice, etc.). This breaks down rock into small particles which are then transported, deposited, then hardened. When this type of rock is buried deep, heat and pressure may transform this into metamorphic rock.

6: This type of rock is formed when sedimentary rock, under high pressure, is crushed and deformed. Metamorphic rock, at high temperatures, can melt into magma and eventually form igneous rock.

7: Metamorphic | Pencils are made of graphite. Some statues are made from marble. Slate was used for roofing in older buildings.