A | B |
TEXTURE | The size, shape, and pattern of a rock's grains. |
GRAIN | A particle of mineral or other rock that gives a rock texture. |
IGNEOUS ROCK | A type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface. |
SEDIMENTARY ROCK | A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together. |
METAMORPHIC ROCK | A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions. |
EXTRUSIVE ROCK | Igneous rock that forms from lava on Earth's surface. |
BASALT | A dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture, found in oceanic crust. |
INTRUSIVE ROCK | Igneous rock that forms when magma hardens beneath Earth's surface. |
GRANITE | A usually light-colored rock that is found in continental crust. |
SILICA | A material that is formed from the elements oxygen and silicon; silica is found in magma. |
SEDIMENT | Small, solid particles of material from rocks or organisms, which are moved by water or wind, resulting in erosion and deposition. |
EROSION | The process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves fragments of rock and soil. |
DEPOSITION | The process by which sediment settles out of the water or wind that is carrying it, and is deposited in a new location. |
COMPACTION | The process by which sediments are pressed together under their own weight. |
CEMENTATION | The process by which dissolved minerals crystallize and glue particles of sediment together into one mass. |
CLASTIC ROCK | Sedimentary rock that forms when rock fragments are squeezed together under high pressure. |
ORGANIC ROCK | Sedimentary rock that is formed where remains of organisms are deposited in thick layers. |
CHEMICAL ROCK | Sedimentary rock that forms when minerals crystallize from a solution. |
CORAL REEF | A structure of calcite skeletons built up by coral animals in warm, shallow ocean water. |
ATOLL | A ring-shaped coral island found far from land. |
FOLIATED | Term used to describe metamorphic rocks whose grains are arranged in parallel layers or bands. |
ROCK CYCLE | A series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly changes rocks from one kind to another. |