The Rock Cycle
Explain the rock cycle: how igneous rocks form from magma, sedimentary rocks from compressed sediment, and metamorphic rocks from heat and pressure, and how all rock types can transform into one another over geological time
Typical age: 12–14 years
“If your child picked up a piece of marble on a school trip, could they explain how it was originally limestone, what changed it into marble, and how long that process took?”
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Needs first
- How Tectonic Plates Move
KS3 rock cycle (igneous/sedimentary/metamorphic) provides material science context for plate boundary processes
- Properties of materialsREQUIRED
The rock cycle requires prior knowledge of rock types (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic) and their observable properties
- Rocks and soil
Understanding that soils are derived from weathered rock provides concrete grounding for rock cycle weathering and erosion processes
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