Rocks and Minerals and Rock Cycle MS-ESS2-1

Erosion

The process in which rock is worn away and transported by water, wind, or ice. Erosion is when natural forces like water, wind, or ice gradually break down and move rocks and soil from one place to another.

Igneous rock

A rock formed when melted rock cools and hardens. Igneous rock. Igneous rock is a type of rock that forms from cooled lava or magma.

Lava

Molten rock that reaches the Earth's surface. Lava. Lava is hot, liquid rock that flows out of a volcano.

Magma

Molten rock beneath the Earth's surface. Magma. Magma is hot, melted rock found under the Earth's crust.

Metamorphic rock

The rock that forms when existing rock is changed by heat, pressure, or chemicals. Metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rock is a type of rock that has been transformed by heat or pressure inside the Earth.

Plate tectonics

The theory that Earth's crust is made of moving plates plate tectonics. Plate tectonics explains how the Earth's surface is divided into large pieces that move and interact, causing natural events like earthquakes and volcanoes.

Rock cycle

A process that changes rocks from one form to another rock cycle. The rock cycle is Earth's way of recycling rocks, changing them from one type to another over time.

Subduction

A crust plate forced beneath another at a plate boundary. Subduction. It is when one piece of the Earth's crust slides under another, often causing earthquakes or volcanoes.