Question

1. Starburst Mini-Lab Reflection
A. Weathering & Erosion
What did you do in the lab that represented weathering and erosion?
Your answer: __I cut up starburst and then I compressed them together_________________________________________


B. Sedimentary Rock Formation
2. How did you model compaction and cementation?
Your answer: ___My hands I smushed and rolled it ________________________________________

C. Metamorphic Rock Formation
3. What could you do to represent heat and pressure changing a rock?
Your answer: ____get it in your hands and compress it down_______________________________________

D. Igneous Rock Formation
4. What could you do to represent magma cooling and hardening in the lab?
Your answer: ___________________________________________

2. Rock Types
Match each rock type with how it forms. Write the correct letter.
A. Formed when magma cools and hardens
B. Formed when sediment is compacted and cemented
C. Formed when rocks change from heat and pressure (without melting)
Sedimentary Rock → _B_____


Igneous Rock → ____A__


Metamorphic Rock → _C_____



3. Rock Observations

List two characteristics geologists look at to identify a type of rock.





Why is observing a hand sample of a rock useful?


4. Rock Cycle Understanding
Explain in your own words how a rock could start as magma and eventually become a sedimentary rock.



What causes rocks to break apart into smaller pieces in nature? (highlight all that apply)


A. Heat


B. Wind


C. Water


D. Freezing and thawing


E. Magic


Why is the rock cycle called a “cycle”?




5. Real-World Connection
The Rocky Mountains are mostly made of igneous rock. What does that tell us about how they formed?



The Great Plains have lots of sedimentary rock. What does that tell us about Earth’s history there?



6. Short Exit Reflection
What is one part of today’s lab that helped you understand the rock cycle better?

Answer 1

1. Starburst Mini-Lab Reflection
A. Weathering & Erosion
What did you do in the lab that represented weathering and erosion?
Your answer: I cut up Starburst and then I compressed them together.

B. Sedimentary Rock Formation
2. How did you model compaction and cementation?
Your answer: My hands — I smushed and rolled it.

C. Metamorphic Rock Formation
3. What could you do to represent heat and pressure changing a rock?
Your answer: Get it in your hands and compress it down.

D. Igneous Rock Formation
4. What could you do to represent magma cooling and hardening in the lab?
Your answer: Warm or slightly melt a piece of candy (or soften it with your hands), then let it cool and harden again — for example let a shaped Starburst sit at room temperature or chill it in the fridge so it becomes firm, showing cooling and solidification.

2. Rock Types
Match each rock type with how it forms.
Sedimentary Rock → B
Igneous Rock → A
Metamorphic Rock → C

3. Rock Observations
List two characteristics geologists look at to identify a type of rock.
- Texture (grain size, grain shape, and how the grains are arranged — e.g., layered, glassy, coarse)
- Mineral composition / color (what minerals it contains and overall color), also hardness and presence of fossils are commonly used

Why is observing a hand sample of a rock useful?
Because you can see and feel its texture, grains, color, and any layering or fossils. These visible features give clues about how the rock formed and what minerals it contains.

4. Rock Cycle Understanding
Explain in your own words how a rock could start as magma and eventually become a sedimentary rock.
Magma cools and hardens to form igneous rock. That igneous rock can be uplifted and exposed at Earth’s surface where weathering and erosion break it into smaller pieces (sediment). The sediments are transported, deposited, buried, compacted, and cemented together to form sedimentary rock.

What causes rocks to break apart into smaller pieces in nature? (highlight all that apply)
A. Heat — yes (thermal expansion and contraction can crack rock)
B. Wind — yes (abrasion and transport)
C. Water — yes (chemical weathering and physical transport)
D. Freezing and thawing — yes (frost wedging)
E. Magic — no

Why is the rock cycle called a “cycle”?
Because rock types continuously change from one form to another through natural processes (melting, cooling, weathering, erosion, burial, heat and pressure) and can go through many different paths and repeat the process over and over.

5. Real-World Connection
The Rocky Mountains are mostly made of igneous rock. What does that tell us about how they formed?
It suggests the area experienced magma activity (intrusive or volcanic) and solidification of molten rock, plus tectonic uplift. Magma rising and cooling (or volcanic eruptions) and subsequent uplift and erosion helped build the mountains.

The Great Plains have lots of sedimentary rock. What does that tell us about Earth’s history there?
It indicates the area was once a place where sediments were deposited (for example shallow seas, rivers, or lakes). Over time those sediments were buried, compacted, and cemented into sedimentary rocks, showing a history of deposition rather than recent volcanic activity.

6. Short Exit Reflection
What is one part of today’s lab that helped you understand the rock cycle better?
Using my hands to cut, compress, and then let the pieces harden (cutting = weathering/erosion, smushing = compaction/cementation, letting cool/harden = igneous formation) helped me see how the same material can change into different rock types through different processes.