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The rock cycle

NGSS.MS:
MS‑ESS2‑1
,
MS‑ESS2.A.1
Review your understanding of the rock cycle in this free article aligned to NGSS standards.

Key points:

  • The rock cycle describes how rocks on Earth form and change over time.
  • When rocks are pushed deep below Earth’s surface, they can melt to form magma. Magma that reaches Earth’s surface through volcanic activity is called lava.
  • Igneous rocks form when magma or lava cools and solidifies.
  • Weathering breaks igneous and other types of rocks into smaller pieces called sediment. Erosion transports sediment from one place to another. Deposition drops sediment in a new location.
  • Sedimentary rocks form when sediment is compacted and cemented. This process is called lithification.
  • Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are exposed to intense heat and pressure. Metamorphic rocks can be formed from igneous, sedimentary, or even other metamorphic rocks.
A sandstone rock formation.
The rock formation Uluru, located in central Australia, is made up of a sedimentary rock called sandstone. Image credit: “Uluru, Sunset” by Weyf, CC0 1.0.

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  • leafers ultimate style avatar for user Emilynn
    Is The Rock a rock??
    (37 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user A Duran
    What type of rock is pummice
    (18 votes)
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  • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user k.sykes3
    how did rocks get hard
    (14 votes)
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  • starky seedling style avatar for user luke.garcia
    do fish get thirsty
    (9 votes)
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    • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user *Anonymous*
      Saltwater fish must intentionally consume water to obtain enough into their systems, in addition to receiving water from osmosis. But, fish don't have to worry about becoming dehydrated because they can take in water via their skin and gills and live in water. Freshwater fish don't drink water because they have a greater blood-salt concentration than the water they are surrounded by, but seawater fish do so to prevent dehydration.

      hopes it helps. :)
      (15 votes)
  • mr pink red style avatar for user Lindy Mower
    Why go through so much trouble to study how old a rock is?
    (6 votes)
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    • duskpin ultimate style avatar for user Mark
      It’s hard to answer the basic questions of geology without knowing the ages of rocks. People want to know how long life has existed on Earth and what the earliest lifeform was. We’ve answered those questions by dating rocks containing fossils. Life has existed at least as long as the oldest fossil. Wouldn’t you like to know when dinosaurs lived? We’ve answered that by dating the rocks that contain dinosaur fossils. We’ve determined the age of Earth by dating meteorites. We know when the moon formed by dating moon rocks. When did the Hawaiian Islands form? Which one of the islands is the oldest? Both questions were answered by dating rocks. We can also use our dating methods to answer questions about geologic hazards. When was the last eruption of the Yellowstone Supervolcano? How frequently has Yellowstone erupted? All of these questions have been answered through methods developed by geologists to determine the ages of rocks. They are powerful techniques that answer these questions and so many more.
      (9 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user artosclemence
    is sand sediment
    (6 votes)
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    is it possible for a rock that used to be a mountain but became a rock years later turn back into a mountain?
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  • blobby green style avatar for user RamsleyT
    how Sedimentary rocks form into Igneous rocks
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