Sedimentary rock forms when pieces from weathering and erosion settle in layers and press together.
Metamorphic rock forms when heat and pressure change a rock.
The rock cycle has no start: any rock can become any other type.
Example: Lava from a volcano cools and hardens. Which kind of rock forms? Lava is melted rock. Rock that forms from cooled melted rock is igneous. Answer: igneous
Question 1
Put the steps that make sedimentary rock in order.
🌊Erosion carries the pieces away
🪨Layers are pressed and cemented into rock
🟫The sediment settles in layers
🌧️Weathering breaks rock into small pieces
Weathering breaks rock into small pieces → Erosion carries the pieces away → The sediment settles in layers → Layers are pressed and cemented into rock
Hint: First rock breaks down (weathering), then the pieces are moved (erosion), dropped in layers (deposition), and finally pressed and cemented together.
Question 2
How does sedimentary rock form?
🟫
lava cools quickly
heat and pressure change rock without melting it
magma cools underground
layers of sediment are pressed and cemented together
layers of sediment are pressed and cemented together
Hint: Sediment is bits of sand, mud, pebbles and shells. Over time, layers of it harden into rock.
Question 3
Shale is changed by heat and pressure. Which metamorphic rock does it become?
slate
marble
conglomerate
basalt
slate
Hint: Soft, muddy shale becomes hard, flat slate, which can split into thin sheets.
Question 4
What are rocks made of?
💎
one or more minerals
frozen water
tiny living cells
only sand
one or more minerals
Hint: Minerals are natural solid substances, like quartz and feldspar. Rocks are made of one or more of them.
Question 5
How does igneous rock form?
🌋
melted rock (magma or lava) cools and hardens
shells pile up on the sea floor
heat and pressure change other rock
layers of sediment are pressed together
melted rock (magma or lava) cools and hardens
Hint: 'Igneous' comes from a Latin word for fire. These rocks start as melted rock.
Question 6
Igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic? Tap a rock, then tap its basket.
Hint: Igneous rock forms from cooled magma or lava. Sedimentary rock forms from pressed layers. Metamorphic rock is changed by heat and pressure.
Question 7
Pumice is an igneous rock that can float on water. Why?
⚪
it is made of ice
it is made of wood
it is full of holes left by gas bubbles
it formed from ocean sediment
it is full of holes left by gas bubbles
Hint: Pumice forms from frothy lava full of gas. The bubbles leave tiny holes that trap air.
Question 8
What split small pieces off the granite each winter?
A Pebble's Long Trip
Long ago, magma deep under a mountain cooled very slowly and hardened into granite. Because it cooled so slowly, its crystals had time to grow large enough to see.
Over millions of years, the mountain wore down and the granite reached the surface. Each winter, water froze in its cracks and split off small pieces. A river carried the pieces downstream, tumbling them until they were smooth pebbles and grains of sand.
Where the river met a lake, the sand settled in layers on the bottom. More layers piled on top. Over a very long time, the weight pressed the layers together, and minerals in the water cemented the grains into sandstone.
lava flowing over it
minerals cementing it
magma melting it
water freezing and expanding in cracks
water freezing and expanding in cracks
Hint: Water expands when it freezes, pushing cracks wider. This is a kind of weathering.
Question 9
Put the steps that make an igneous rock like basalt in order.
🪨The lava cools and hardens into rock
⬆️Magma rises toward the surface
🔥Rock deep underground melts into magma
🌋It erupts from a volcano as lava
Rock deep underground melts into magma → Magma rises toward the surface → It erupts from a volcano as lava → The lava cools and hardens into rock
Hint: Rock melts into magma deep underground, the magma rises, erupts as lava, then cools and hardens.
Question 10
Granite is an igneous rock with large crystals. How did it form?
🪨
magma cooled slowly underground
limestone was heated and squeezed
mud was pressed into layers
lava cooled in seconds in the air
magma cooled slowly underground
Hint: Slow cooling underground gives crystals time to grow big.
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Answer key
1. Weathering breaks rock into small pieces → Erosion carries the pieces away → The sediment settles in layers → Layers are pressed and cemented into rock
2. layers of sediment are pressed and cemented together