Learning the rock cycle and understanding the processes involved helps all of us. The rock cycle also gives scientists and engineers an idea on where energy sources (mainly fossil fuels, which are found only in sedimentary rock) and building materials such as marble or granite may be located.

Also called geological cycle .

Rocks can affect the atmosphere! Tiny particles of ash help make raindrops in the atmosphere as water condenses around them. The gases released from volcanoes can become sulfuric acid droplets that screen out sunlight. Large volcanic eruptions can even reduce Earth’s temperature for months or several years.

Igneous rocks form from the cooling of magma or lava. At diverging plate boundaries, convection currents bring hot magma to the surface. At convergent plate boundaries, sedimentary rock from the ocean floor gets pushed down into the mantle. The crust increases in temperature as it dives deeper into the mantle.

The thermal energy that drives the rock cycle comes from two main sources: Earth’s intcriw and the sun. Earth’s cutan is also a source of thermal energy that drives the rock cycle. This thermal energy is the result of radioactiv Within Earth’s crust, mantle, and core.

If there is too much heat or pressure, the rock will melt and become magma. Limestone, a sedimentary rock, will change into the metamorphic rock marble if the right conditions are met. Although metamorphic rocks typically form deep in the planet’s crust, they are often exposed on the surface of the Earth.

Plate movements drive the rock cycle by pushing rocks back into the mantle where they melt and turn into magma again. Plate movements also cause the folding, faulting and uplift of the crust that move rocks through the rock cycle.

Answer: D. The rock cycle is a series of processes in which one kind of rock is transformed into other kinds.

Clastic sedimentary rocks are made up of pieces (clasts) of pre-existing rocks. Pieces of rock are loosened by weathering, then transported to some basin or depression where sediment is trapped. If the sediment is buried deeply, it becomes compacted and cemented, forming sedimentary rock.

Volcanic activity and sea-floor spreading at the mid-ocean ridges are the most recent evidence of plate tectonics.