Page 130 - Laboratory Manual in Physical Geology

BIG IDEAS PRE-LAB VIDEO

Rocks can be classified as igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic on the basis of their present composition and
texture and how they formed.The rock cycle model explains
how all rocks can be formed, deformed, transformed,
melted, and reformed as a result of environmental factors
and natural processes that affect them.

FOCUS YOUR INQUIRY

|
THINK What are rocks made of, and where and how do
About It they form?

ACTIVITY 4.1 Rock Inquiry (p. 112 )
ACTIVITY 4.2 What Are Rocks Made Of? (p. 113 )

ACTIVITY 4.3 Rock-forming Minerals (p. 117 )
|
THINK How are a rock’s composition and texture
About It used to classify it as igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic?

ACTIVITY 4.4 What Is Rock Texture? (p. 117 )
|
THINK How are rocks formed, deformed, transformed,
About It melted, and reformed as a result of environmental
factors and natural processes of the rock cycle?

ACTIVITY 4.5 Rocks and the Rock Cycle Model (p. 119 )
LA B O RA T O R Y 4 Introduction

Rocks are the solid materials that make up most of Earth,
our Moon, and the other rocky planets of our solar
system. You might say that the largest rock on Earth is
Rock-Forming its entire rocky body, the geosphere. And like all bodies,
it is a complex system of interacting parts and processes.
Bedrock sticks out of the ground at “outcrops,” where it
Processes and the is physically and chemically broken down into loose rock
frgaments, mineral particles, and chemical residues. But at
Rock Cycle the same time, new bedrock is forming from cooling lava
at volcanoes. The bodily function of the geosphere is its
cycle of rock creation, deformation, and destruction—the
“rock cycle.” Every rock is part of the cycle and contains a
story of where it has been on its path through the cycle. So
the next time you see a rock, look closely for clues about its
origin and the story it has to tell.

El Capitan, Yosemite, California, is a large body of igneous rock that
formed when magma cooled underground. The rock weathered
from above it to reveal the igneous rock, which is crumbling to
form sediment. (Henrik Lehnerer/Gamma/Glow Images)
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