Name: ______________________________________ Period: _____ Date: _____________________________
Rock Cycle Dice Game
Introduction: Rock particles travel through Earth’s crust in the “Rock Cycle”. It is called a cycle because a rock
particle can travel through it over and over again in random directions. In this activity you will model the movement
of a rock particle through time.
Procedures:
1. Notice the dice and signs around the room.
2. You all will be starting at either an Ocean Volcano or Land Volcano.
3. Roll the die at the station and move to the station indicated by the sign. READ THE DIE CAREFULLY, some
of the stations are similarly named.
4. Each time you visit a station, record your location and think about what caused you to get there. There is a list of
processes below to help you determine this, use these words to help you describe it.
Each roll of the dice represents approximately 200,000 years in the life of a rock.
6. If you are forced to stay at that location still record on your worksheet and explain why.
7. You will have about 20 – 30 minutes to complete your travels.
Processes:
Eruption: ejection of volcanic material onto the Earth’s surface
Solidification (Cooling & Hardening): phase change of a liquid to a solid (crystal or glass)
Weathering: chemical and mechanical breakdown of rocks due to exposure to air, water, and/or living
organisms
Erosion: all of the processes that pick sediment up from the Earth’s surface and place it in a flowing medium
Deposition: the accumulation of loose rock fragments and/or minerals into beds, or irregular masses
Compaction: covering of sediment/rock with increasing thickness of overlaying sediment
Cementation: process that converts loose sediment to solid sedimentary rock
Uplift: movement of rock toward the Earth’s surface by erosion of overlying rocks and/or sediment or an
earthquake could have occurred to push the rock upward.
Heat & Pressure: where extreme temperatures and pressure change the arrangements of atoms in the rocks to
form new ones.
Melting: phase change from a solid to a liquid
Journey: Use the letters I for igneous, S for Sedimentary and M for Metamorphic rock.
1. I began my adventure at ________________________________________________________________
Rock Type _________
2. The first thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type ____
3. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type ____
4. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type _____
5. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type ______
6. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type ____
7. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type _____
8. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type _____
9. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type ______
10. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type _____
11. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type ______
12. The next thing to happen was ____________________________________________________________
this COULD have occurred because ______________________________________________________
Rock Type _____
Analysis:
1. What are your first impressions about your journey?
2. Did you get “stuck” in the rock cycle? If so where and why?
3. Compare your journey to that of someone else and write 2-3 sentences explaining the differences.
4. What process or processes happened the most in your journey?
5. What makes the rock cycle work?
6. What type of energy is allowing a volcano to erupt?
7. How is the sun involved in breaking down rocks?
8. Describe how gravity might break rock?
9. Using your own words explain how the rock cycle works? Make sure its detail and accurate.