Rock Cycle/Weathering/Mass Wasting- Geography

What is the rock cycle?

It's how rocks change between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic types over time.

How are igneous rocks formed?

When magma cools and hardens.

How are sedimentary rocks formed?

By little rock pieces (sediments) getting pressed together.

How are metamorphic rocks formed?

By heat and pressure changing existing rocks.

What is weathering?

Breaking rocks into smaller pieces.

What is mechanical weathering?

Rocks breaking physically, like ice cracking them.

What is chemical weathering?

The process where rocks are physically disintegrated and/or chemically decomposed by climatic or biological agents in situ.

What is biological weathering?

Rocks breaking from plants or animals (like roots pushing into cracks).

What is mass wasting?

Rocks and soil moving downhill because of gravity.

Name three types of mass wasting.

Landslides (fast fall), mudflows (wet soil moving fast), and creep (slow soil movement).