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All About Rocks

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What Exactly Are Rocks?

298 words

Born from Magma: Igneous Rock

223 words

Layer After Layer: Sedimentary Rock

192 words

Changing Form: Metamorphic Rock

204 words

Making Tools from Obsidian

169 words

The Rock Cycle

313 words

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 What Exactly Are Rocks?

What Exactly Are Rocks?

T his text is excerpted fro m an o rig inal wo rk o f the Co re Kno wledg e Fo undatio n.

You don t have to look hard to find rocks. The y are all around youand unde r you, too! Earth s
crust is made almost e ntire ly of rocks. Mountains, hills, and cliffs are hug e masse s of rock that
form landscape fe ature s. Pe bble s in a stre ambe d are smooth, rounde d rocks. Chunky bits of
broke n rock form the g rave l on a country road. Rocks g o into making side walks and stre e ts. Slabs
of rock cove r the outside of many building s. Indoors, pie ce s of rock ofte n make up floors, walls,
stairs, and counte rtops. Muse ums are g ood place s to se e rocks that artists have carve d into
sculpture s. The polishe d stone s in some type s of je we lry are rocks that pe ople we ar.

Rocks are all around. Some are carved into sculptures, others are
used for jewelry.

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 What Exactly Are Rocks?

All the varieties of rocks can be organized into three classes.

Just what are rocks, e xactly? Rocks are naturally occurring mate rials made of solid, nonliving
substance s calle d mine rals. Think of mine rals as the building blocks of rocks. Some rocks are
forme d from just one mine ral. Most rocks, howe ve r, are combinations of two or more mine rals.
Mine rals appe ar as diffe re nt-size d pie ce s, or g rains, in rocks. Some rocks have ve ry tiny mine ral
g rains, g iving the rocks a smooth, e ve n te xture . Othe r rocks have larg e r mine ral g rains and a
roug he r te xture .

Imag ine hiking up a mountain and picking up rocks along the way. Whe n you re ach the top, you ll
probably have quite a colle ction. Your rocks may have diffe re nt colors and te xture s. Some may
have stripe s or laye rs. Some mig ht be hard and othe rs crumbly. Some have tiny g rains whe re as
othe rs have larg e g rains that g litte r whe n the y catch the lig ht. All this varie ty mig ht se e m
confusing . Ye t g e olog ists org anize all rocks into just thre e classe s, or basic type s: ig ne ous,
se dime ntary, and me tamorphic.

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 Born from Magma: Igneous Rock

Born from Magma: Igneous Rock

T his text is excerpted fro m an o rig inal wo rk o f the Co re Kno wledg e Fo undatio n.

Ig ne ous rocks are the most abundant class of rocks on the e arth. Ig ne ous rocks form whe n
mag ma cools and solidifie s. Whe n you think of ig ne ous rocks, think of volcanoe s.

The re are two basic type s of ig ne ous rock. One type forms from mag ma that e rupts onto Earth s
surface as lava. The lava cools and harde ns into rock. The faste r it cools, the smalle r the mine ral
g rains will be in the re sulting rock. Obsidian is an ig ne ous rock forme d from lava that coole d ve ry
quickly, so quickly, the re wasn t time for the mine rals to form g rains. As a re sult, obsidian is as
smooth and shiny as g lass. In fact, it is ofte n calle d volcanic g lass. Basalt is an ig ne ous rock
forme d from lava that took long e r to cool. Basalt is typically a dark-colore d rock. It has fairly
small mine ral g rains that g ive it a fine -g raine d te xture .

The se cond type of ig ne ous rock forms from mag ma that solidifie s be low Earth s surface . Mag ma
cools ve ry slowly whe n it s de e p be ne ath the surface . Slow cooling le ads to ig ne ous rocks with
re lative ly larg e mine ral g rains. The slowe r the cooling is, the larg e r the g rains are . Granite is a
common ig ne ous rock that forms from mag ma that coole d within Earth s crust. Granite usually
contains mine ral g rains that are larg e e noug h to se e with the nake d e ye .

Igneous rocks

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 Layer After Layer: Sedimentary Rock

Layer After Layer: Sedimentary Rock

T his text is excerpted fro m an o rig inal wo rk o f the Co re Kno wledg e Fo undatio n.

Se dime ntary rock is a major class of rocks. Se dime ntary rocks are made of se dime nts. Se dime nts
are tiny bits of rock and sand combine d with frag me nts of once -living thing s. Se dime nts colle ct
in low-lying are as both on land and in bodie s of wate r. The y form laye rs, one on top of anothe r.
Ove r long pe riods of time , the we ig ht of ove rlying laye rs compacts the se dime nts in de e pe r
laye rs, sque e zing the m close r tog e the r. Se dime nts also be come ce me nte d, or g lue d, tog e the r as
dissolve d mine rals fill the space s be twe e n the se dime nts. As the se dime nts dry, the dissolve d
mine rals turn into solids, binding the se dime nts tog e the r. Ove r time , compacting and ce me nting
proce sse s transform se dime nts into se dime ntary rock.

Most se dime ntary rocks are more e asily broke n than most
ig ne ous rocks. Hit a se dime ntary rock with a hamme r, and it
will crumble or bre ak apart. Some se dime ntary rocks contain
fossils. Lime stone is a se dime ntary rock ofte n packe d with
the fossilize d ske le tons and she lls of tiny oce an cre ature s.

Some se dime ntary rocks g e t the ir name from the ir

se dime nts. Sandstone starte d as g rains of sand, whe re as
mudstone forme d from ancie nt mud.

The weight of overlying layers compacts the

sediments, squeezing them closer together.

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 Changing Form: Metamorphic Rock

Changing Form: Metamorphic Rock

T his text is excerpted fro m an o rig inal wo rk o f the Co re Kno wledg e Fo undatio n.

One of the thre e major classe s of rocks is me tamorphic rock. Me tamorphic rocks form whe n
ig ne ous or se dime ntary rocks are e xpose d to e xtre me he at and pre ssure . The y can e ve n form
from olde r me tamorphic rocks. Hig h te mpe rature s and crushing pre ssure alte r the mine rals in
the rocks. Mine ral g rains may be flatte ne d or re arrang e d into laye rs, swirls, or stripe s. The y may
also be chang e d into comple te ly diffe re nt mine rals!

For e xample , take g ranite , an ig ne ous rock. Whe n g ranite is subje cte d to inte nse he at and
pre ssure , it be come s a me tamorphic rock calle d g ne iss. Whe n the se dime ntary rock lime stone is
sque e ze d and he ate d de e p be low g round, it be come s a me tamorphic rock calle d marble .

Me tamorphic rocks te nd to form de e p within Earth s crust. The pre ssure from countle ss tons of
ove rlying rock is tre me ndous. Equally powe rful is the he at rising from hot mag ma in the mantle
be ne ath the crust. Me tamorphic rocks ofte n form whe re te ctonic plate s are slowly colliding .
The y can also form as mag ma trave ls up throug h cracks in Earth s crust and he ats the rocks
around the cracks. If the he at of the mag ma comple te ly me lts the rock ag ain, the n it be come s
ig ne ous rock. If the rock is he ate d just e noug h to be chang e d, howe ve r, it inste ad be come s
me tamorphic rock.

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 Making Tools from Obsidian

Making Tools from Obsidian

T his text is excerpted fro m an o rig inal wo rk o f the Co re Kno wledg e Fo undatio n.

Many pre historic culture s made tools out of rock. Scie ntists working
in East Africa have found obsidian stone tools that are ne arly two
million ye ars old. Obsidian was e spe cially prize d by ancie nt tool
make rs. Obsidian is an ig ne ous rock that forms from lava that cools
quickly. Obsidian bre aks into pie ce s with sharp e dg e s that are g ood
for cutting and pie rcing .

To make a ve ry sharp cutting tool, ancie nt tool make rs struck a

block of obsidian with anothe r, harde r rock. This cause d a long , thin
blade of obsidian to flake off. Althoug h the blade was frag ile , it had
incre dibly sharp e dg e s. In fact, the e dg e s of obsidian blade s are
much sharpe r than me tal scalpe ls use d by surg e ons today.

Making a spe ar tip or arrowhe ad was more time consuming . The

tool make rs starte d with a re lative ly flat pie ce of obsidian. The y
Spear tip
shape d it by striking off tiny flake s of rock, one afte r anothe r, from
the e dg e s. The y g radually shape d it into a sharp, durable and
ofte n be autifulpointe d tool.

Arrowheads

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 The Rock Cycle

The Rock Cycle

T his text is excerpted fro m an o rig inal wo rk o f the Co re Kno wledg e Fo undatio n.

Rocks you se e in the world around you mig ht se e m like pe rmane nt fixture s. Give n e noug h time ,
howe ve r, all rocks chang e . The y are cre ate d, de stroye d, and re cre ate d in a continuous cycle .
Ge olog ists call this ong oing proce ss the rock cycle .

The rock cycle has no starting or e nding point. You can jump in anywhe re to se e how it works.
Le t s be g in with mag ma e rupting from a towe ring volcano. The mag ma (now lava) cools and
harde ns into ig ne ous rock. Ove r the course of thousands of ye ars, sun, wind, rain, and fre e zing
te mpe rature s cause the rock to we athe r, or bre ak down into smalle r pie ce s. The pie ce s continue
to we athe r, slowly bre aking down into se dime nts. Howling winds, flowing wate r, and g ravity
g radually move the se dime nts down the side s of the volcano and be yond. Move me nt of se dime nts
from place to place is calle d e rosion.

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 The Rock Cycle

Imag ine that the se dime nts e nd up in a lake , whe re the y se ttle to the bottom. Ove r long pe riods
of time , more laye rs of se dime nts are de posite d on top of the m. Compacting and ce me nting
proce sse s e ve ntually turn the de e ply burie d se dime nts into se dime ntary rock.

Now imag ine that the se dime ntary rock is ne ar the e dg e of a te ctonic plate . The plate collide s
with anothe r plate ve ry slowly, of course . Tre me ndous he at and pre ssure g e ne rate d by the
collision g radually turn the se dime ntary rock into me tamorphic rock. As the plate s continue
colliding , the ir rocky e dg e s crumple . The me tamorphic rock is slowly pushe d up hig he r onto
Earth s surface . Think mountains! Expose d to air, rain, and snow, the rock be g ins to we athe r and
e rode .

Alte rnative ly, one te ctonic plate mig ht be sliding be ne ath anothe r. The me tamorphic rock along
the e dg e of the de sce nding plate g e ts hotte r and hotte r as it ne ars the mantle . At some point it
me lts into mag mamag ma that some day mig ht e rupt from a volcano ag ain.

Unde rstanding how rocks chang e he lps g e olog ists unde rstand how Earth has chang e d ove r time .

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