Name: Priscila Viaggio Date: 10/29/20
Student Exploration: Rock Cycle
Vocabulary: deposition, erosion, extrusive igneous rock, intrusive igneous rock, lava,
lithification, magma, metamorphic rock, rock cycle, sediment, sedimentary rock, soil, weathering
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. What happens to hot lava after it erupts from a volcano? The lava cools and cools and cools
and then hardens and becomes solid rock.
2. How does rock turn into soil? Over time a rock goes through heat, cold, wind, rain and other
stages of weather. Under all these conditions rocks start to break down forming into
compound materials that are mixed in with soil.
3. The Mississippi River carries tons of tiny rock fragments called sediments into the Gulf of
Mexico. What do you think will happen to these sediments after a few million years?
I think it will start building up and build up into a group or key that will eventually reach the
surface of the water.
Gizmo Warm-up
Over millions of years, rocks are broken down
and transformed into other rocks. The Rock
Cycle Gizmo illustrates the different
transformations that make up the rock cycle.
Before exploring the Gizmo, take a look at the
image.
1. What types of rocks are shown? Intrusive
igneous rock, extrusive igneous rock,
sedimentary rock, and metamorphic rock.
2. Magma is molten (liquid) rock under Earth’s surface. Based on the image, how do you think
magma turns into extrusive igneous rock? When magma rises and explodes out of a
volcano its called lava and when lava rapidly cools on the surface the cooling processes
causes rock to form which are called extrusive igneous rocks.
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3. Click Extrusive igneous rock button to the right of the image. Were you correct? yes
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Activity: Get the Gizmo ready:
The rock cycle Click Start again.
Question: What is the rock cycle?
1. Observe: A cycle is a path with the same start and end. Create a rock cycle with the Gizmo.
A. Click Magma. How hot is magma? Around 1000 degrees Celsius
B. Click Crystallization (below ground). What kind of rock is formed when magma
cools below the surface? Extrusive igneous rock.
C. Click Exposure and weathering. What forms when rocks break down? Cobbles,
pebbles, sand, sit and clay.
D. Click Erosion and deposition. In what ways are sediments transported? They are
transformed by wind, rivers, and or glaciers.
E. Click Lithification and compaction. (Lithification is hardening into rock.) What
kind of rock is formed from sediments? Sedimentary rock.
F. Click Increase temp. and pressure. What kind of rock is formed? Metamorphic
rock.
G. Click Melt. What is formed when rocks melt deep underground? Intrusive Igneous
rock.
2. Describe: Select the PATH tab. What are the steps in this rock cycle? Magma, intrusive
igneous rock, soil, sediments, sedimentary rock, metamorphic rock, magma, extrusive
igneous rock.
3. On your own: On the SIMULATION tab, click Start again. In the spaces below, list three
rock cycles. You can start anywhere, but each cycle must begin and end at the same point.
Cycle 1: soil, erosion and deposition, lithification and compaction, exposure and weathering,
soil .
Cycle 2: extrusive igneous rock, increase temp. and pressure, melt, crystallization (above
ground) extrusive igneous rock.
Cycle 3: Intrusive igneous rock, melt , crystallization (below ground), intrusive igneous rock.
(Activity continued on next page)
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Activity (continued from previous page)
4. Diagram: The image below summarizes the different stations in the rock cycle. Draw an
arrow to represent each possible transition from one rock type to another. Then label each
arrow with the process that occurs, such as “weathering” or “erosion and deposition.”
5. Practice: List the steps that would cause each transformation below.
A. Intrusive igneous rock sedimentary rock: Weathering and exposure into soil,
erosion and deposition into sediment, compaction into sedimentary rock.
B. Metamorphic rock sediment: weathering and exposure into soil and deposition
into sediment.
C. Sediment sedimentary rock: Lithification and compaction.
D. Sedimentary rock sediment: Exposure and weathering into soil, erosion and
deposition into sediments.
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