Geology Quiz: Rocks and Classification

The study of rocks, their classification, and their history.

Hardened lava or magma.

Formed from small particles of eroded rocks and dissolved chemicals.

Rocks that result from changes to existing rocks.

Solid material in Earth's crust, a natural combination of minerals and other matter.

Size, shape, and appearance of rock particles, mineral crystals, and fossils.

Igneous rock with non-existent grains, often smooth, glassy, or transparent.

Often considered the original continental rock.

Geologists specializing in identifying rocks.

Rocks formed from sediments, the products of erosion and weathering.

Sedimentary rocks formed by chemical processes, not from broken rock pieces.

Process where minerals come out of solution, forming sediments.

A chemical sedimentary rock often formed from the remains of living things, such as corals.

A chemical sedimentary rock formed by the evaporation of salty water.

The process by which sediments settle out of a transporting medium (e.g., water, wind) and accumulate.

The process occurring after compaction, involves mineral bonding sediments together.

The process following deposition where layers of sediment compact due to pressure from overlying layers.

Original, unchanged rocks (igneous, sedimentary, or other metamorphic) that undergo changes to form metamorphic rocks.

The process of changing existing rocks into new types of rock. This involves changes to composition, structure, and minerals.

Hot, mineral-rich water that dissolves minerals, moves through rocks, and precipitates them to form new types of rock.

Metamorphic rocks with flattened minerals arranged in parallel layers. They break easily.

Metamorphic rocks without distinct layers and with minerals not aligned parallel to each other.

Changes in rocks caused by the heat from magma intruding into them.

Forces that press rocks from a single direction, causing foliation.

Rocks formed from existing rocks through change in mineral composition or structure by heat, pressure (and/or chemical fluids).

Marble, a metamorphic form of limestone, reacts with acid rain.

Marble has been used in significant structures, like government buildings.

Igneous rocks are among the earliest types of rocks to form.

Over time, sediments accumulated and formed dense layers in the seas.

Oceanic plates often move beneath continental plates in subduction zones.

Only during subduction is it possible for sedimentary rocks to transform into magma.