School › Rocks
Rocks and the rock cycle
Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks: how each kind forms, how rocks are broken down, moved and laid down again, and how they slowly change from one kind into another. Based on the British Geological Survey, two open university geology textbooks and Encyclopaedia Britannica. Three ages, each with a text, an experiment, a game, a quiz, a printable worksheet and a teacher sheet.
Ages 6–7Rock detectivesRocks are made of tiny bits called minerals. Meet the three kinds of rock, find out how rocks slowly break and change, and be a rock detective with a magnifying glass and a drop of water.Ages 10–11The rock cycleHow igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form, why some rocks have big crystals and others small ones, and how weathering, erosion and deposition recycle rock. With a fair-test sugar-cube 'river'.Ages 15–16Rock textures, density and porosityReading a rock's history from its texture; cooling rate and crystal size; the sedimentary pathway; regional and contact metamorphism; and measuring density and porosity of real rock samples with uncertainties.