Name______Class______Date______
Skills Worksheet
The Rock Cycle Notes (pgs. 90-96)
Section: The Rock Cycle (pg. 90)
1. Describe a “rock”.
a naturally occurring solid mixture of one or more minerals or organic matter
2. Describe the “rock cycle”.
The series of processes in which a rock forms, changes from on type to another, is destroyed, and forms again by geological processes
THE VALUE OF ROCK (PG. 90)
3.Describe how humans have used rocks throughout history. Be sure to give lots of details and examples!
Early Humans used rocks as hammers to make other tools. They made arrowheads, spear points, knives, and scrapers by carefully shaping rocks such as chert and obsidian. Rocks have been used to make buildings, monuments, and roads. Buildings have been made out of granite, limestone, marble, sandstone, slate, and other rocks. Modern buildings contain concrete and plaster.
Processes that shape the earth (PG. 91)
4.The process in which water, wind, ice, and heat break down rock is called
weathering
5.One reason that weathering is important is because it breaks rock down into fragments, or sediment, from which sedimentary rocks are made.
6.The process by which sediment is removed from its source is called erosion.
7.During deposition, sediment is deposited in bodies of water and other low-lying areas.
8.Sedimentary rock can be made when sediment is pressed and cemented together by minerals dissolved in water.
9.Movement within the Earth that causes buried rock to be exposed at the Earth’s surface is called uplift
10.______When uplifted rocks reach the Earth’s surface, weathering, erosion, and deposition begin.
Directed Reading A continued
ILLUSTRATING THE ROCK CYCLE (PGS 92-93)
Match the correct description with the correct term. Write the letter in the space provided.
11. Describe “magma”.
Hot liquid that forms when rock partially or completely melts
12. Describe “sediment”.
Uplift and erosion expose the igneous rock at the Earth’s surface
13. Describe igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock using the chart below.
IGNEOUS / SEDIMENTARY / METAMORPHICMagma cools and
solidifies to become
igneous rock / Overtime sediment forms
thick layers that are
compacted and cemented
together to form
sedimentary rock. (often
contains fossils) / When larges pieces of the Earth’s
crust collide, some of the rock is
forced downward. At great depths,
intense heat and pressure and
squeeze the sedimentary rock to
change it into metamorphic rock
ROUND AND ROUND IT GOES (PG. 94)
14.__ A rock at the Earth’s surface is primarily affected by forces of
weathering and erosion.
15.__ A rock deep underground is primarily affected by forces of extreme
heat and pressure.
ROCK CLASSIFICATION (PGs. 95 & 96)
16.__ Scientists study rocks using what two important criteria?
a. composition
b. texture
17. Define “composition”.
The chemical makeup of a rock; describes either the minerals or other materials in the rock.
18. Define “texture”.
The quality of a rock that is based on the sizes, shapes, and positions of the rock’s grains
19. The texture of a rock can provide clues as to how and where the rock formed.
Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Science and Technology1Rocks: Mineral Mixtures