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Unit 6 Rocks
Overview - The rock cycle, which is continual in nature, explains the formation of minerals and
rocks. Fossils provide evidence of constant environmental change.
Standards:
Students will investigate the scientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed.
Investigate the contribution of minerals to rock composition.
Classify rocks by their process of formation.
Describe how fossils show evidence of the changing surface and climate of the Earth.
Students will describe various sources of energy and with their uses and conservation.
Identify renewable and nonrenewable resources.
Students will investigate the scientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed.
Compare and contrast the Earth’s crust, mantle, and core including temperature, density,
and composition.
Describe processes that change rocks and the surface of the earth.
Explain the effects of physical processes (plate tectonics, erosion, deposition, volcanic
eruption, gravity) on geological features including oceans (composition, currents, and
tides).
Questions - Students will be asked to answer these questions throughout this unit of study.
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
How are rocks formed?
How are rocks classified?
How can rocks change from one type to another?
Is the rock cycle really a cycle? Explain your answer.
How are rocks used by 6th graders?
ROCKS
1. Rocks and minerals are ____________________________________________________.
2. Rocks are composed of________________ which are naturally existing _________________
compounds.
3. Rocks and minerals are_________________________________________________ that are
usually crystalline and solid.
4. Rocks are classified based on _______________________________________________ and
their ____________________________________________________.
5. Rocks can be distinguished into many different types, based on their ___________________
and __________________________.
6. List five ways we use rocks and minerals in our everyday life.
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
7. What are the three main types of rocks? ___________________________,
___________________________, & ___________________________
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
8. Sedimentary rocks form from ________________________ & ________________________
9. Sedimentary rocks are formed by the _____________________________________________
of rocks and other ___________________________that are ___________________________
together.
10. Usually after burial, deposited sediment undergoes ___________________________ (the
processes that turn sediment into a rock).
11. Lithification includes ________________________and ___________________________.
12. Coal is a ___________________________, ___________________________rock that is
formed from ___________________________ & ___________________________.
13. Limestone, shale, and sandstone are all examples of _______________________________
14. Sediment from weathered rock is transported and deposited elsewhere such as at the ______,
or in ___________________________or in the ___________________________.
15. ___________________________rocks are the most abundant rock on Earth’s Surface.
IGENOUS ROCKS
16. Igneous rocks are formed from ________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
17. __________________ (or _________________) cool and crystallize to form igneous rock.
18. There are two types of Igneous Rock. ____________________ & _____________________
19. ____________________________________ is formed from lava, which is _________ the
surface.
20. __________________________________ is formed from magma, which is ____________
the surface.
21. What is the difference between magma and lava? _________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
22. Molten rock that flows on the surface of the Earth is ___________________________.
23. Molten rock that is below the surface of the Earth is ___________________________.
24. Where are many Igneous Rocks found? ________________________________________
25. Igneous rocks are dominated by ________________________________________
26. Molten rock with ____________________amounts of _______________ flows faster than
molten rock with ____________________ amounts of ______________________
27. If lava has more silica, it will move ___________________than lava with less silica.
28. Igneous rock undergoes __________________ (or breakdown) to form ________________
29. Of the three types of rocks, ___________________________rocks are the hardest.
30. The Stone Mountain ___________________________is a relatively small granite pluton
that covers an area less than a county in size.
31. ________________________________ is made of granite and is an __________________.
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
32. Metamorphic rocks are formed by _______________ & ___________________________.
33. As the metamorphic rock is buried more deeply, ________________ and ______________
continue to rise.
34. If the temperature becomes hot enough, a metamorphic rock ________________________.
The ___________________________is called magma.
35. Large amounts of metamorphic rocks are usually found underneath ___________________
___________________________________________________________________________
36. A magma intrusion will ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
37. Small amounts of metamorphic rocks are usually found near ________________________.
38. If the sedimentary rock is ___________________________in the crust under more and more
sediment, often due to plate tectonic movements, the ___________________________________
causes metamorphism to occur. This transforms the sedimentary rock into a _______________
___________________________
39. Igneous rocks can __________________________________________________ (as a result
of heat and pressure) to form metamorphic rocks.
ROCK CYCLE
40. Rocks at the Earth’s surface weather, forming ___________________________that are
buried. These sediments are ___________________________, __________________________,
and often ___________________________ into new rock.
41. The rock cycle explains how one rock type can be ______________________ into another.
42. The Rock Cycle is ___________________________; it never __________.
43. Any rock type can undergo __________________to form ______________________.
44. Igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks undergo ___________________________.
45. The beginning of the rock cycle _______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
46. Fill in the Rock Cycle below
FOSSILS
47. A fossil is a remnant or __________________________ from the past, such as a
_______________________or ______________________________________________.
48. Fossils are _______________________ & _______________________ in the earth's
_______________________.
49. A ______________________is a fossil of a ______________, _______________________,
burrow, or other trace of an animal ________________________________________________
50. A footprint of an ancient animal in a rock is called a ______________________________.
51. Large animals occasionally became trapped in ___________and become a _____________
52. Fossils, the remains of organisms preserved in sedimentary rocks, are part of the evidence
scientists use ____________________________________________ at the Earth’s _________
through time.
53. Oil and Natural Gas are formed from _____________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
54. Coal, Natural Gas, and Oil are all examples of ___________________________________.
55. Petrified wood is a _______________________
56. Petrified wood forms when _______________________with natural minerals slowly
________________________________ of wood. Over thousands of years the ______________
__________________________ leaving behind the _______________________ from the water.
The minerals harden and form _______________________that looks exactly like ____________
57. How much wood is actually located in petrified wood? _______________________
58. The _______________________________________is how geologists have organized the
______________________________________________in chronological order.
59. Superposition states that older layers of rock are _______________________ younger layers
of rock.
60. ______________________________________________is how geologists determine the
age of rocks by measuring the decay of atoms.
61. Radiometric dating is the _______________________way to date
_______________________ & _______________________.
CAVES
62. Caves form from slightly _______________________ ground water slowly seeping through
slightly _______________________rocks underground. The ___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
63. Caves often form where ancient seas once existed. The seashells left behind for millions of
years form _______________________and this rock reacts with _____________________
_________________________ water to form ________________________________________.
64. Caves have rock structures that look like giant icicles called _______________________ &
_______________________
65. _______________________form form on the ceilings of caves.
66. _______________________ form on the ground of caves.
67. How do stalagmites and stalactites grow? Water that has _____________________
_________________________ floating inside slowly __________________from the ceilings of
caves. Over thousands of years the ______________________________________________
VOCABULARY
Rock Cycle, igneous rock , intrusive igneous rock, extrusive igneous rock, metamorphic rock,
sedimentary rock, fossil , radiometric dating, The Law of Superposition, pressure, magma, lava,
stalagmite, stalactite, amber, silica, trace fossil, petrification , petrified wood, fossil fuels,
Lithification