Energy in the Rock Cycle: How Rocks Change and Move

Have you ever wondered how one type of rock can slowly turn into another over millions of years? The secret lies in the energy that powers the rock cycle. With this worksheet, you explore how heat from inside Earth, pressure from shifting layers, and movement on the surface work together to transform rocks. Each activity helps you understand how rocks melt, cool, break apart, or change form. As you learn, you begin to see Earth as a constantly moving and transforming system.

Your journey begins with heat energy, which plays a major role deep inside Earth. Activities guide you to explore how intense heat melts rock into magma and how cooling forms igneous rocks. You start recognizing how temperature changes shape crystal size and rock texture. This builds your understanding of how energy drives rock formation beneath the surface.

Next, you explore pressure and Earth’s internal forces. Worksheets help you learn how layers of rock push against each other, squeezing and changing minerals to form metamorphic rocks. You’ll notice how pressure rearranges atoms without melting the rock completely. You begin to understand how energy from within Earth transforms rock structure. This strengthens your ability to connect physical forces to geological changes.