Work through these eight questions in order. They start with reading a clue and end with flexible reasoning, and every specimen is invented.
The timed original practice session builder can add a clock.
Questions
Question 1
A rock has large interlocking crystals and no layers. Classify it and give the reason.
Answer
Intrusive igneous. Large interlocking crystals show slow cooling of magma underground, which gave time for crystals to grow.
Question 2
A rock has thin layers and a leaf impression. Classify it and name two processes in its formation.
Answer
Sedimentary. Layers and a fossil show that sediment was deposited and buried, then compaction and cementation formed the rock.
Question 3
A hard rock has parallel bands of aligned minerals. Name the family and the conditions that formed it.
Answer
Metamorphic. Heat and pressure changed an earlier rock and aligned its minerals in bands, without melting it.
Question 4
Name the process at each arrow: rock fragments become layers; layers become solid rock; solid rock becomes magma.
Answer
Fragments to layers: deposition. Layers to solid rock: compaction and cementation. Solid rock to magma: melting at great depth and temperature.
Question 5
Describe a pathway from limestone to marble in one sentence.
Answer
Heat from nearby magma, with pressure, recrystallises the limestone into marble without melting it, so the change is metamorphic.
Question 6
Explain why an intrusive igneous rock resists weathering better than a weakly cemented sandstone.
Answer
The igneous rock has interlocking crystals with little empty space, so water and chemicals have few ways in. The sandstone has gaps between weakly cemented grains where water soaks in and breaks the rock down.
Question 7
A student says the rock cycle always goes igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic. Correct the claim with one example.
Answer
The cycle has options. For example, an igneous rock can be buried and become metamorphic under heat and pressure without ever becoming sedimentary.
Question 8
Sedimentary rock is uplifted, weathered and eroded. The fragments are deposited and compacted into a new sedimentary rock. Is this a valid route? Explain.
Answer
Yes. Each step is a real process, and the route stays in the sedimentary family. The rock cycle allows repeats, so it does not need to pass through igneous or metamorphic stages.
If you got these wrong
- Questions 1 to 3: revisit classifying a rock from supplied formation evidence.
- Questions 4 to 5: use tracing two possible pathways through the rock cycle.
- Question 6: read explaining a rock property in relation to its formation.
- Questions 7 to 8: study avoiding the assumption that every rock follows one fixed sequence.
Keep your slips in the mistake log and paper-error review. If you want a teacher to mark your answers, see online one-to-one Geography tuition.