CHAPTER 5: ROCKS
Section 6: The Rock Cycle
BASICS
Forces deep inside Earth and at the surface
produce a slow cycle that builds, destroys, and
changes the rocks in the crust.
 Rock cycle: series of processes on Earth’s
surface and in the crust and mantle that slowly
change rocks from one kind to another

A CYCLE OF MANY PATHWAYS
JOURNEY OF A ROCK
1. Granite (igneous) formed beneath the surface
2. Pushed upward into mountain through plate
tectonics
3. Granite is eroded
4. Particles become sand and are carried by
streams into ocean
5. Settle on ocean floor and layers build up
6. Becomes sandstone (sedimentary)
7. Sandstone buried deeply
8. Heat and pressure change into quartzite
(metamorphic)
CHECKPOINT 1

Begin with igneous rock and explain how it could
change through two more steps in the rock cycle.
CHECKPOINT 1
Begin with igneous rock and explain how it could
change through two more steps in the rock cycle.
 Possible answer: the igneous rock is buried,
exposed to heat and pressure, and becomes a
metamorphic rock, which eventually is uplifted
and eroded to form sediment and then
sedimentary rock.

THE ROCK CYCLE AND PLATE TECTONICS
Plate movements start the rock cycle by helping
to form magma, the source of igneous rocks.
 Plate movements also cause faulting, folding, and
other motions of the crust that help to form
sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.
 Igneous Rocks

Oceanic plates move apart
magma rises and fills
gap with new igneous rock
 Oceanic plate subducts under continental
magma
forms and rises
volcano made of igneous rock
 Collision of continental plates
may push rocks so
deep the melt to form magma
cools and hardens
to form igneous rock

THE ROCK CYCLE AND PLATE TECTONICS

Sedimentary and Metamorphic Rocks
Collision between continental plates
range; erosion
sedimentary rock
 Collision between continental plates
deep into mantle (heat & pressure)
rock

mountain
push rocks
metamorphic
CHECKPOINT 2

How can the collision of plates lead to the
formation of sedimentary rock?
CHECKPOINT 2
How can the collision of plates lead to the
formation of sedimentary rock?
 During the collision, mountains form. Through
time, the mountains are weathered and eroded to
produce sediment. The sediment is compacted
and cemented to form sedimentary rock.

POST-LESSON QUIZ
1. How can a metamorphic rock become a
sedimentary rock?
a. exposure to heat and pressure
b. melting
c. erosion
d. volcanic activity
POST-LESSON QUIZ
2. How can igneous rock become metamorphic
rock?
a. exposure to heat and pressure
b. melting
c. erosion
d. volcanic activity
POST-LESSON QUIZ
3. How can metamorphic rock become igneous
rock?
a. exposure to heat and pressure
b. melting and recrystallization
c. erosion
d. deposition
POST-LESSON QUIZ
4. What is the driving force behind the rock cycle?
a. the Sun
b. plate tectonics
c. human impact
d. ocean tides
POST-LESSON QUIZ
5. A metamorphic rock can become which of the
following types of rock?
a. a different type of metamorphic rock
b. an igneous rock
c. a sedimentary rock
d. all of the above