The Rock Cycle
Everything You Need to Know!
The Cycle Part
The reason why we call it the rock CYCLE is because each rock goes in a full cycle, being each type of rock at one point or another. Say you start out with an igneous rock (formed from cooled and hardened molten lava). It tumbles down into a river and it eroded into sediment. The sediment piles up and is compressed over time. After the layers have been compressed, you can visibly see the layers, forming sedimentary rock. That sedimentary rock gets buried in the Earth's crust and undergoes heat and pressure, forming a metamorphic rock. Finally, this rock has been all three types of rock in the full rock cycle!
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Igneous Rock
Igneous rocks are extremely fascinating! These rocks are made out of cooled and hardened molten lava, also known as magma (if it hasn't exited the underground chambers of a volcano). Down in Earth's crust, underneath volcanoes, there are these little pockets called magma chambers. These magma chambers hold all of the lava before it spews out of the top of the volcano. Once the volcano erupts, all of that magma turns into molten lava. All of that lava ends up on the ground and left there. Over time, the lava cools down. It also hardens so much that it is VERY hard to break! Once the lava does both of these items, it turns into a new igneous rock! (I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be there at the first step of making igneous rocks!) Clearly, igneous rocks are the perfect mix of thrill, excitement, and lava!
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Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rock is rock that is made up of many layers of compressed sediment of rocks or once living organisms. All of the sediment that makes sedimentry rocks originally come from other rocks that have been eroded by wind, rain, and/or snow. All of that sediment layers on top of eachother. Over time, all of those layers of sediment are compressed together. Once the rock is found, it is a brand new sedimentary rock! Since sedimentary rocks have layers, it causes them to have a striped appearance. Sedimentary rocks don't have a striped appearance because they were stretched in their making(like metamorphic rocks). When you go to large canyons and see all of those layers in the rocks, guess what type it is! It's sedimentary!
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Metamorphic Rock
Metamorphic rock is the result of a change of an already formed rock. The starting rock undergoes heat and pressure, which causes physical and/or chemical changes to the rock. Some metamorphic rocks are marble, slate, gneiss, and schist. Sometimes, there are metamorphic rocks inside of the Earth's crust (which is very hot) and the pressure that they undergo is from tectonic plates colliding. At other times, the pressure asset to change a rock to a metamorphic rock comes from the tectonic plates colliding (like before), and the heat comes from molten lava or magma from Earth's interior, transforming the old rock into a beautiful, new metamorphic rock! To recognize metamorphic rocks in a whole crowd, just see if they are VERY strong, have a wide range of shine and color, and they have signs of being made (stretching and squeezing) which results in a striped pattern. Metamorphic rocks ROCK!
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What's It About?
In this Prezi, you will find lots of helpful information about the rock cycle, Igneous Rock, Metamorphic Rock, Sedimentary Rock, how they are formed, and Why the Rock Cycle is called a CYCLE. All of these photos are cited on them or at theh bottom of the page. I hope that to people seeking information, this Prezi (along with the rest of this website) as useful as possible!