Name _____________________________ # ________ Date ____________

Igneous: relating to fire; rocks formed when molten magma rises to cooler regions or is expelled as lava from volcanoes and solidifies.

Metamorphic: changed-form; rocks formed under extreme heat and pressure.

Sedimentary: rocks formed by small particles or sediment that layer and are compressed together to form a solid mass.

Rock Cycle: the constant and unending change of rock from one form into another.

Be able to fill in a diagram of the rock cycle with appropriate terms.

Weathering: the breakdown of rocks over time by physical or chemical means

Physical weathering: the breakdown of rocks due to wind, moving water or ice, or frost shattering (freezing and re-freezing of water in and inside the rock’s surface.)

Chemical weathering: the breakdown or changing of the minerals that make up rocks by carbonic acid from CO₂ and acid rain from pollution.

Biological weathering: the breakdown of rocks due to living things such as plants and animals

Identify the three layers of soil as topsoil, subsoil and bedrock

Erosion: the wearing away of the land surface by wind and water.

Ways to prevent erosion include tree windbreaks and other plantings.