Term | Definition |
grain | the particles of minerals or other rocks that give a rock its texture |
texture | the look and feel of a rock's surface, determined by the size, shape, and pattern of a rock's grain |
granite | a usually light-colored igneous rock that is found in continental crust |
rock cycle | a series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly changes rocks from one kind to another |
extrusive rock | igneous rock that forms from lava on Earth's surface |
clastic rock | sedimentary rock that forms when rock fragments are squeezed together under high pressure |
organic rock | sedimentary rock that forms from remains of organisms deposited in thick layers |
chemical rock | sedimentary rock that forms when minerals crystallize from a solution |
metamorphic rock | a type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions |
intrusive rock | igneous rock that forms when magma hardens beneath Earth's surface |
rock-forming material | any of the common minerals that make up most of the rocks of Earth's crust |
compaction | the process by which sediments are pressed together under their own weight |
deposition | process in which sediment is laid down in new locations |
basalt | a dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture, found in oceanic crust |
cementration | the process by which dissolved minerals crystallize and glue particles of sediment together into 1 mass |
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 |
sediment | small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or the remains of organisms; earth materials deposited by erosion |
weathering | the chemical and physical processes that break down rock and other substances |
foliated | term used to describe metamorphic rocks that have grains arranged in parallel layers or bands |
erosion | the processes by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves weathered particles of rock and soil |
igneous rock | a type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface |