Define rock cycle with explanation
Answers
Rock cycle is the cycle of rocks changing their form into different other forms due to extreme heat J temperature exerted upon them. They can also change form due to weathering and erosion. There are 3 form Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. They all change forms between them which moves like a cycle.
Answer:
Like most Earth materials, rocks are created and destroyed in cycles. The rock cycle is a model that describes the formation, breakdown, and reformation of a rock as a result of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic processes. All rocks are made up of minerals. A mineral is defined as a naturally occurring, crystalline solid of definite chemical composition and a characteristic crystal structure. A rock is any naturally formed, nonliving, firm, and coherent aggregate mass of solid matter that constitutes part of a planet.
Igneous rocks- form in two very different environments. All igneous rocks start out as melted rock, (magma) and then crystallize, or freeze. Bowen's Reaction Series is a proposed sequence of mineral crystallization from basaltic magma, based on experimental evidence. Volcanic processes form extrusive igneous rocks. Extrusive rocks cool quickly on or very near the surface of the earth. Fast cooling makes crystals too small to see without some kind of magnifier. Basalt is dark rock, gray or black on a freshly broken surface, and weathers brown or red, because it contains lots of dark-colored minerals.
Some basalt contains light-colored crystals. Dacite and andesite are medium in color, and contains medium amounts of dark minerals. Rhyolite is the lightest colored volcanic rock. Rhyolite contains very few dark minerals, but sometimes, rhyolite cools so fast that it quenches and forms volcanic glass instead of crystallizing. Volcanic glass looks dark because of the way light passes through it. Obsidian is volcanic glass. Rhyolite is the most common source of volcanic ash and pumice in Idaho. Intrusive igneous rocks cool in plutons (Pluto was the Roman god of the Underworld.) deep below the surface of the Earth. Slow cooling allows the growth of large crystals. Crystals in intrusive rocks are visible without magnification. Granite has the same minerals as rhyolite, but in much larger crystals. Diorite is the intrusive version of andesite, granodiorite is the intrusive version of dacite, and gabbro is the intrusive version of basalt.