1. Earth Science
3.1 The Rock Cycle

2. Start with this video link Rock Cycle Video

3. Rocks
All Earth processes, from volcanic activity and mountain building to earthquakes and erosion, involve rocks.
Rocks contain clues, valuable information, about the environment in which they were formed

4. Rocks
What is a rock?
A rock is any solid mass of mineral or mineral-like matter that occurs naturally as part of our planet.

5. Rocks
A few rocks are composed of only one mineral. Most rocks, however, occur as a solid mixture of minerals.
A characteristic of rock is that each of the component minerals retains their properties in the mixture.
A few rocks are composed on non-mineral matter.
Coal is considered a rock even though it consists of organic materials.

6. Rock Igneous Rocks Sedimentary Rocks Metamorphic Rocks
Rocks are classified into three
groups based on how they
were formed
Igneous Rocks
Sedimentary Rocks
Metamorphic Rocks

7. The Rock Cycle
Interactions among Earth’s water, air, and land can cause rocks to change from one type to another.
The continuous process that causes rocks to change makes up the rock cycle.

8. The Rock Cycle
Rocks move from one type of rock to another in the rock cycle through many different paths.

9. The Rock Cycle
Lets look at some of the ways rocks change in this cycle
Magma is molten material that forms deep beneath the earth’s surface
Magma that reaches the surface is called lava
When magma cools and hardens beneath the surface or as a result of a volcanic eruptions, igneous rock forms.

10. The Rock Cycle
What happens when igneous rock that is formed deep within the Earth reaches the surface?
Any rock on Earth’s surface will
undergo weathering
Weathering is a process in which
rocks are physically and chemically broken down by water, air, and living things to produce sediment.

11. Rock Cycle
Sediment is made up of weathered pieces of Earth materials, rock worn down to pieces from wind, water, and plants.
Sediment is moved from place to place by water, gravity, glaciers or wind.

12. Rock Cycle
If sedimentary rocks become buried deep within the Earth they will be subjected to additional pressures and/or temperatures.
Under extreme pressure and temperature conditions, sedimentary rock will change into metamorphic rock.
If the metamorphic rocks are subjected to still higher temperatures, they may melt to form magma.

13. Rock Cycle
As we can see, the Rock Cycle moves in multiple directions at once with
igneous rock,
sedimentary rock,
and metamorphic rock
each transforming when given the appropriate circumstances.

14. Rock Cycle
Processes driven by heat from the Earth’s interior are responsible for forming both igneous and metamorphic rocks.

15. Rock Cycle
Weathering and the movement of weathered materials are external processes powered by energy from the sun and by gravity.
Processes on or near Earth’s surface produce sedimentary rocks.

16. Rock Cycle