The Rock Cycle · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.
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The Rock Cycle

Science · Matter & Materials · ages 12-14
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Loose sediment is buried, compacted and cemented into rock. Which rock group has formed?

    • Metamorphic rock
    • Sedimentary rock
    • Igneous rock

  2. Which rock group forms when magma or lava cools and solidifies?

    • Igneous rock
    • Sedimentary rock
    • Metamorphic rock

  3. Marble is metamorphic rock formed when heat and pressure change limestone without melting it.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. An igneous rock has tiny crystals. Where did it most likely cool?

    • Near the surface, with rapid cooling
    • Deep underground, with very slow cooling
    • In a riverbed, as loose sediment was cemented

  5. Granite has large, visible crystals. What does this suggest about its cooling?

    • It cooled rapidly after erupting
    • It formed from compacted sediment
    • It cooled slowly underground

  6. A rock breaks into fragments on a hillside. A stream carries them away, then they settle on a lake bed. Which processes happened in that order?

    • Deposition, erosion, weathering
    • Weathering, erosion, deposition
    • Erosion, weathering, deposition

  7. A student says every stage of the rock cycle takes millions of years. Which observation shows that this claim is too broad?

    • Erupted lava solidified within a human lifetime
    • A marble sample's colour revealed its exact formation duration
    • Every sediment layer became rock immediately after deposition

  8. Amir says, "Metamorphic rock can never change again." Which possible route challenges his claim?

    • It has reached the last stage and cannot change
    • It must become sediment as soon as it forms
    • It can melt and later cool into igneous rock
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The Rock Cycle W1-mt_NckKLZ3uCE-s1

  1. Sedimentary rock · Compaction presses sediment together. Cementing minerals bind its grains. These processes can make sedimentary rock.
  2. Igneous rock · Cooling molten material produces igneous rock. Sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form by other processes.
  3. True · Limestone stays solid while its minerals recrystallise to form marble. This is metamorphism.
  4. Near the surface, with rapid cooling · Tiny crystals suggest rapid cooling, commonly near the surface. This is a likely cooling history, not a rule without exceptions.
  5. It cooled slowly underground · Slow cooling gives crystals time to grow large. Granite forms this way underground.
  6. Weathering, erosion, deposition · Breaking down in place is weathering. Moving the fragments is erosion. Leaving them on the lake bed is deposition.
  7. Erupted lava solidified within a human lifetime · Many rock-cycle processes are slow, but erupted lava can solidify much faster. There is no single duration for every stage.
  8. It can melt and later cool into igneous rock · Metamorphic rock can melt under suitable conditions. Cooling the molten material then produces igneous rock.
Worksheet · LightMySky