Chapter 6 Rocks – Vocabulary Homework
In your own words, rewrite the definition of each word and draw a picture to illustrate the
meaning.
Batholith – A large mass of igneous rock exposed by erosion at Earth’s surface; forms the core
of many mountain ranges.
Cementation – The process by which minerals precipitate out of solution to fill the spaces
between sand grains, pebbles, or other rock particles and bind the fragments together.
Deform – The changing of a rock’s shape by heat, friction, stress, and pressure.
Felsic – A type of magma rich in silica that forms light-colored igneous rock containing minerals
such as quartz and feldspars.
Fossil – The remains, impression, or any other evidence of life from another geologic age
preserved in rock.
Igneous – Rock formed by the cooling and hardening (crystallization) of magma; one of three
types of rock in the rock cycle.
Mafic – Type of magma rich in iron and magnesium and low in silica; forms dark-colored
igneous rock containing minerals such as hornblende, augite, and biotite.
Magma – The hot molten rock that forms beneath Earth’s surface.
Metamorphic – Rock that has undergone chemical or structural change due to the effects of
heat and pressure; one of three types of rock in the rock cycle.
Metamorphism – The process by which a rock’s structure or composition is changed by
pressure, heat and moisture.
Parent rock – The original rock material that forms metamorphic rock.
Pluton – Intrusion of magma into Earth’s crust, creating igneous rock formations such as dikes, sills,
laccoliths, volcanic necks, and batholiths.
Rock – A naturally formed group of minerals bound together; can consist largely of one mineral or
several different minerals in varying quantities.
Rock cycle – A repeated series of events by which rock gradually and continually changes between
igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic forms.
Sediment – Solid particles such as weathered rock fragments, plant and animal remains, or minerals that
settle out of solution onto lake and ocean bottoms.
Sedimentary - Rock formed by the compaction and cementing of layers of sediments; one of three
types of rock in the rock cycle.
Stratification – The arrangement of layers of sedimentary rock.