The Rock Cycle Study Guide
Name _________________________________________________________
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. What are the physical changes that take place when an igneous rock turns into a
sedimentary rock?
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2. Which part of the rock cycle helps form igneous rock but not other types of rock?
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3. Which part of the rock cycle helps form sedimentary rock but not other types of rock?
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4. What would be needed for a metamorphic rock to be turned into a sedimentary rock?
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5. Acid rain can dissolve the minerals in rock faster than normal rainwater. How does acid
rain affect different types of rock?
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6. Mountain ranges can be produced when tectonic plates collide and push areas of
Earth’s crust to higher elevations. What is the name of this process?
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7. Repeated cycles of heating and cooling can cause a rock to crack breaking it into smaller
pieces. What is the name of this process?
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8. How does sedimentary rock form?
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9. How does igneous rock form?
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10. What does the term subsidence mean in relation to the rock cycle?
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11. What does the term uplift mean in relation to the rock cycle?
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12. When a volcano erupts, ash is ejected into the atmosphere. What term describes what
happens when the ash reaches the surface of the Earth?
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13. What change of state takes place when magma turns into igneous rock?
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14. What would be needed for a sedimentary rock to be changed into a metamorphic rock?
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15. What causes a rift zone and how would magma flow if it found its way into a rift zone?
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16. What would most likely cause pebbles in a stream to erode?
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17. Over time, repeated temperature changes can cause a rock to break into smaller pieces.
What is the name of this process?
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18. What is the definition of the rock cycle?
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19. Explain a way that a sedimentary rock could form, break into smaller pieces over time,
and become sedimentary rock again in another location.
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20. What conditions must be present for igneous rock to change into metamorphic rock
and name two ways that this could happen?