Rocks and Rock Cycle Vocab

Igneous

Rocks formed from cooled magma 

Intrusive

Igneous rock forced into voids inside the Earth

Extrusive

Igneous rock reaching the Earth’s surface before cooling and solidifying

Sedimentary

Rock formed from cementation and compaction of previously weathered rock fragments

Cementation

New minerals stick those grains of sediment together

Compaction

Sediments under pressure have grains squeezed tightly together

Metamorphic

Rock formed from a different type of rock through heat and pressure

Soil

A mixture of weathered rock. Soil consists of rocks, sand, silt, and clay with decaying organic matter

Permeability

How easily water passes through soil

Porosity

The measure of empty space in a material

Bedding

Pattern of layered levels of rock

Weathering

the process that breaks down rock

Mechanical Weathering

Rocks are broken apart by physical process. The overall chemical makeup of the rock stays the same. Each piece of characteristics similar to the original rock.

Chemical Weathering

Changes the chemical composition

Deposition

The agents of erosion lay sediment down

Erosion

Transport of weathered rock material