Transcript The Rock Cycle

The Rock Cycle
By Josh Wickersham, Alyssa
Wong-Conway, Alex Levin, and
Rachel Connolly
Ecological/Biological Roles
 Plants and animals require minerals
for life
 Make up soil for plants
 Source for precious minerals and
metals
 Provide shelter to small animals
 Tools to early humans
What is a rock?
 An assemblage of one or two
minerals that form a part of the
Earth’s solid body.
 A rock normally connotes an
individual specimen; it is
detached from its outcrop so it
has visible boundaries.
How much rock is there total?
 Atmosphere – 0%
 Lithosphere – 100%
 Biosphere – 0%
 Hydrosphere – 0%
Types of rocks - Sedimentary
 Made of sand,
shells, or other
particles
compressed into
sediment and
harden over time.
 soft and breaks
easily.
 Ex: Conglomerate,
limestone
Types of rocks - Metamorphic
 Formed under the
surface of the
Earth from the
metamorphosis
that occurs in and
under the crust
 Often have ribbonlike layers, may

Ex:
Gneiss,
have shiny
marble
crystals on their
surface
Types of rocks – Igneous
 Formed from the
crystallization of
magma sometimes
inside the Earth
and other times
erupts onto the
surface through
volcanoes (lava).
Ex: Basalt,
obsidian
Rock chart
How sedimentary rocks are
formed
 Weathering- rocks wear down due
to wind, man, or water
 Transportation of sediments- rock
is brought down a river bed
 Deposition- rocks are deposited at
the mouth of a river
How metamorphic rocks are
formed
 Sedimentary or igneous rock is put
under intense heat and pressure
and then goes through
metamorphism.
 Through weathering, transportation,
and deposition, it becomes
sediment again.
 Through melting, they become
magma.
How igneous rocks are formed
 Magma undergoes cooling and
crystallization and solidifies into
igneous rock
 Through weathering, transportation,
and deposition, it becomes
sediment again
Rock Cycle Chart
Bibliography
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Geology for Kids; September 22, 2008 http://www.kidsgeo.com/images/earths-lithosphere.gif
No title; September 22, 2008 http://www.windows.ucar.edu/earth/geology/images/rock_cycle_lg.jpg
The Rock Cycle; September 22, 2008 http://sunny.crk.umn.edu/courses/NatRHolder/GEOL/PicsLogos3/RockCycle455.gif
Classifying Rocks and Minerals; September 22, 2008
http://www.bcssa.org/newsroom/scholarships/great8sci/Photos/Earth_Photos/metamorphic.jpg
Principles of Soils and Hydrology; September 22, 2008
http://www.cropsoil.uga.edu/soilsandhydrology/images/Granite.jpg
The Rock Cycle; September 22, 2008
http://www.moorlandschool.co.uk/earth/earth_science/utah_sandstone.jpg
Some Basic Concepts Underlying the Science of Geology; September 22, 2008
http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect2/Sect2_1a.html
Interactives: Rock Cycle http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/