The Rock Cycle
What is it?
The rock cycle is a never ending process on Earth.
It began when the world formed and continues today.
Rocks are everywhere. We climb on them, make buildings from them, use them as tools, and study them to figure out how old the Earth is.
One type of rock is sedimentary rock. It is formed when other types of rocks are weathered, eroded, compacted and cemented.
When sedimentary rocks experience intense heat and pressure, they can transform into metamorphic rocks.
Then when the metamorphic rocks melt at really high temperatures below or above the surface of the Earth, they become magma and lava.
Magma then rises and begins to cool deep inside the Earth's crust. Sometimes, the magma explodes as lava and cools on the side of a volcano.
In conclusion, once sedimentary, metamorphic, or igneous rocks are formed, they can change into each other through weathering, erosion, heat and pressure, or heating to the point of melting.
Click on this link to see if you understood how rocks can change into other rocks.