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Types of Rocks Facts & Worksheets

A rock is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and how it is formed.

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A rock is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and how it is formed. Rocks are usually grouped into three main groups: igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks, and sedimentary rocks.

See the fact file below for more information on the types of rocks or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Types of Rocks worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS

  • Rocks are composed of grains of minerals which are homogeneous solids formed from a chemical compound arranged in an orderly manner. The aggregate minerals forming the rocks are held together by chemical bonds. The types and abundance of minerals in a rock are determined by the way in which it was formed.
  • Many rocks contain silica (SiO2), a compound of silicon and oxygen that forms 74.3% of the Earth’s crust. This material forms crystals with other compounds in the rock. The proportion of silica in rocks and minerals is a significant factor in determining their names and properties.
  • Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet’s mantle or crust.
  • Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition.

IGNEOUS ROCKS

  • In terms of modes of occurrence, igneous rocks can be either intrusive (plutonic and hypabyssal) or extrusive (volcanic).
  • Intrusive igneous rocks make up the majority of igneous rocks and are formed from magma that cools and solidifies within the crust of a planet (known as plutons), surrounded by pre-existing rock (called country rock); the magma cools slowly and, as a result, these rocks are coarse-grained.
  • Extrusive igneous rocks, also known as volcanic rocks, are formed at the crust’s surface as a result of the partial melting of rocks within the mantle and crust. Extrusive igneous rocks cool and solidify quicker than intrusive igneous rocks. They are formed by the cooling of molten magma on the earth’s surface.
  • Igneous and metamorphic rocks make up 90–95% of the top 16 km of the Earth’s crust by volume. Igneous rocks form about 15% of the Earth’s current land surface. Most of the Earth’s oceanic crust is made of igneous rock.
  • Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without crystallization to form natural glasses. Igneous rocks occur in a wide range of geological settings: shields, platforms, orogens, basins, large igneous provinces, extended crust, and oceanic crust.

SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

  • Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of small particles and the subsequent cementation of mineral or organic particles on the floor of oceans or other bodies of water on the Earth’s surface.
  • The sedimentary rock cover of the continents of the Earth’s crust is an extensive 73% of the Earth’s current land surface, but the total contribution of sedimentary rocks is estimated to be only 8% of the total volume of the crust.
  • Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles to settle in place. The particles that form a sedimentary rock are called sediment, and may be composed of geological detritus (minerals) or biological detritus (organic matter).
  • Sedimentary rocks can be subdivided into four groups based on the processes responsible for their formation: clastic sedimentary rocks, biochemical sedimentary rocks, chemical sedimentary rocks, and a fourth category for “other” sedimentary rocks formed by impacts, volcanism, and other minor processes.

METAMORPHIC ROCKS

  • Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock types, in a process called metamorphism, which means “change in form.”
  • Metamorphic rocks make up a large part of the Earth’s crust and form 12% of the Earth’s land surface.
  • They are classified by texture and by chemical and mineral assemblage (metamorphic facies).
  • They may be formed simply by being deep beneath the Earth’s surface, subjected to high temperatures and the great pressure of the rock layers above it. They can form from tectonic processes such as continental collisions, and when rock is heated by the intrusion of hot molten rock called magma from the Earth’s interior.
  • The five basic metamorphic textures with typical rock types are slate, schistose, gneissose, granoblastic, and hornfelsic.
  • Some examples of metamorphic rocks are gneiss, slate, marble, schist, and quartzite.

Types of Rocks Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about types of rocks across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Types of Rocks worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about a rock which is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and how it is formed. Rocks are usually grouped into three main groups: igneous rocks, metamorphic rocks, and sedimentary rocks.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Types of Rocks Facts
  • The 3 Types
  • Let It Rock
  • Intrusive Vs Extrusive
  • Complete Me
  • Hi Five
  • Rock and Roll
  • Stack the Rocks
  • Key the Words
  • Rock Hunt
  • Story Time

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Link will appear as Types of Rocks Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 26, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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