Vocabulary Chapter 3, Section A
Rock: A naturally formed solid that is usually made up of one or more types of minerals.
Rock cycle: The set or natural, repeating processes that form, change, break down,
and re-form rocks.
Igneous rock: Rock that forms as molten rock cools and becomes solid.
Sedimentary rock: Rocks formed as pieces of older rocks and other loose materials get
pressed or cemented together or as dissolved minerals re-form and
build up in layers.
Metamorphic rock: Rock formed as heat or pressure causes existing rock to change in
structure, texture, or mineral composition.
Sediment: Solid materials such as rock fragments, plant and animal remains, or
minerals that are carried by water or by air and that settle on the bottom of a
body of water or on the ground.
Metamorphism: The process by which a rock’s structure or mineral composition is
changed by pressure or heat.
Recrystallization: The process by which bonds between atoms in minerals break and
re-form in new ways during metamorphism.
Foliation: The arrangement of minerals within rocks into flat or wavy parallel bands; a
characteristic of most metamorphic rocks.
Intrusive igneous rock: Igneous rock that forms as magma cools below Earth’s surface.
Extrusive igneous rock: Igneous rock that forms as lava cools on Earth’s surface.