S3.11.4 For the adult
The rock cycle
Can one kind of rock turn into another kind?
What this chapter teaches
Rock changes kind slowly. Magma cools into igneous rock. Weathering and erosion wear rock into sediment. Buried and pressed sediment becomes sedimentary rock. Heat and pressure change rock into metamorphic rock, and more heat melts it to magma. Any rock can follow many paths, and a turn takes millions of years.
Three questions to ask
There is no one right wording. Listen for the idea.
- How does an igneous rock become a sedimentary rock?
- Why do we never see the rock cycle happen?
- Can you find a shortcut in the cycle that skips one kind of rock?
After the chapter, the learner can
- Draw the rock cycle with melting, cooling, burying and lifting
- Explain how one rock can become another over millions of years
What they copy into their notebook
Magma cools to igneous rock. Rock wears into sediment. Sediment is buried and pressed into sedimentary rock. Heat and pressure make metamorphic rock. More heat melts it.