GeologyLesson 1 of 1 in the course Rocks and the rock cycle

Rock Cycles Across Earth and the Solar System

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

The rock cycle describes how rocks change among the three main rock types over geologic time. Understanding it helps explain how Earth's materials respond to changing environments and how different kinds of rocks are related.

The rock cycle is the set of processes through which igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks transform into one another. It is not a single fixed sequence. Any rock type can be altered by processes that change its environment, and different pathways can occur over time.

All flashcards

What is the rock cycle?
The interconnected set of processes that transforms rocks among igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic types over geologic time.
What is lithification?
The conversion of loose sediment into sedimentary rock, chiefly through burial and compaction and often through mineral cementation.
How do clastic sedimentary rocks form?
Fragments of older rocks or organic material are deposited, compacted, and commonly cemented together.
What distinguishes regional from contact metamorphism?
Regional metamorphism affects broad areas, commonly during mountain building; contact metamorphism occurs when nearby magma heats surrounding rock.
How does cooling rate affect igneous rock texture?
Slow cooling underground gives crystals more time to grow, while rapid surface cooling usually produces fine-grained rock or, if extremely fast, natural glass.

Quiz questions

  1. At a mid-ocean ridge, what happens as plates move apart?Answer: Mantle material partially melts, and the magma can cool into new basaltic oceanic crust.
  2. How do fluids released from a subducting slab encourage volcanism?Answer: They lower the melting temperature of material in the overlying mantle wedge.
  3. What geological changes commonly accompany continental collision?Answer: Compression builds mountains and produces regional metamorphism across broad areas.
  4. What is the source of tidal heating inside a moon?Answer: Repeated gravitational flexing caused by interaction with its parent body.
  5. Why is the cosmic rock cycle described as open?Answer: Material can move between planetary bodies and their surroundings.

Based on the Wikipedia article Rock cycle, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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