By Rachel Cobb,Dante Sin, and Max Abramowitz

page 1 table of contents page 2 Rock cycle page 3-5 Sedimentary rocks page 6-8 Metamorphic rocks page 9-11 Igneous rocks page 12-16 Crystals page 17 bibliography

The rock cycle is a never ending cycle that is very fascinating. Metamorphic and igneous rocks turn into sedimentary rock with weathering and erosion. Sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, with high heat, melt, then cool and turn into igneous rock. Igneous rock and sedimentary rocks can be squished together with heat and pressure and turned into metamorphic rocks. Sedimentary rock can turn into other sedimentary rocks. Metamorphic rock can turn into other metamorphic rocks. Igneous rock can turn into other igneous rocks.

There are three types of sedimentary rocks: clastic, organic and chemical. Clastic rocks such as sandstone or shale are made up of pieces of rocks compressed together to make clastic rocks. Organic rocks like coal or chalk are made of mostly plants and dead animals. Chemical rocks are mostly made of a mineral called calcite. Most sedimentary rocks are clastic. Clastic means they are made of mud, sand and other pieces of rocks called clasts. Some clasts can be the size of marbles and are stuck together by minerals in water. Sandstone can be different colors depending on the color of the minerals. Salt, calcite and silica all form chemical sedimentary rocks.

Metamorphic rock is a type of rock which forms under ground with heat that is 300 to 700 degrees Celsius and high pressure. Metamorphic rocks are often stronger than sedimentary and igneous rock because they are made with more pressure and heat, which makes them stronger.

Graphite

Metamorphic rocks form under ground with extreme heat and pressure.

milky quartz

Igneous rock is volcanic rock, which means it comes from a volcano. Igneous means re formed. Igneous rock forms from fast or slow cooling lava.

Pumice is an igneous rock formed from bubbling lava froth, and that is why pumice has holes in it and is so light. Basalt is another type of igneous rock which forms from basaltic lava, which is a fast owing lava. Rhyolite is an interesting kind of igneous rock. What is strange about it is that it forms from a sticky kind of lava.

Obsidian

Pumice

The aquamarine crystal is a blue green color that can be as light as seawater. Aquamarine means seawater in Latin. Iron gives aquamarine its beautiful color. Aquamarine is the birth stone for March. Aquamarine is related to the emerald. The Aquamarine crystal is formed by being super heated in other words it is an igneous crystal.

There are many types of crystals but a well known crystal is a ruby. A ruby is made out of chromium which is an element. Rubies are also the third strongest mineral in the world. Ruby is Latin for red.

ruby

Sapphires are hard crystals that form in different rock veins, in hexagonal or square prisms. They form from high heat and pressure in other words it is a metamorphic crystal. Sapphires are the second strongest mineral.

Sapphires are mainly blue.There is a rare Sapphire that is called a Star Sapphire because it has a star shape on it.

Everything Rocks and Minerals. Washington D.C.: Steve Tomecek, 2011. Print. National Geographic Kids. The Lithosphere. Minneapolis: Gregory L. Vogt, 2007. Print. Earth's Spheres. Rocks and Minerals. N.p.: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988. Print. Eyewitness Books. What Are Sedimentary Rocks? New York: Natalie Hyde, 2011. Print. All about Gemstones. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http://www.allaboutgemstones.com/gemstone_home.html>. Gemstone.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2013. <http:// www.gemstone.org>.