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Do you like to know how things are made? For example, when you order a grilled cheese sandwich, do you like to know what kind of bread and cheese are going to be used? If you don't want a Swiss cheese on rye sandwich, then you probably have an interest in how your sandwich is constructed.

But what about the bread and the cheese? Are you curious about how those products are made? Sometimes it's easy to see how things come to be the way they are. For bread, it's easy to follow a recipe that shows how ground grains are combined with other ingredients to produce the bread that comes hot and fresh out of the oven.

For other things, though, it's not nearly as easy to figure out how they're made. Take rocks, for example. Can you look at a and determine how it came to be? Unless you're a , the answer is probably "no." So how are those hard lumps of matter made?

That's a bit of a trick question, though, because there are three main types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. And, of course, each type forms differently. Let's take a look at each type of and how it comes to be.

Igneous rocks when melted cools into a . This can happen underground, where liquid is found in the of , or above the ground, where is released during a volcanic eruption. Common examples of igneous rocks include granite, basalt, pumice, and obsidian.

While igneous rocks can in a matter of minutes as erupts and cools quickly on Earth's surface, sedimentary rocks can take millions of years to . When and surface materials over time, they leave layers of sediments.

Over long periods of time, upon of sediments , putting intense on the oldest layers. Under great and , lower layers of sediments eventually turn into rocks. Common examples of sedimentary rocks include sandstone, limestone, and shale.

Metamorphic rocks are the products of rocks that have undergone changes. If you're familiar with the term as it describes the change a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly, then you'll understand that the term also applies to rocks that change in .

Metamorphic rocks may have started out as igneous, sedimentary, or even another type of metamorphic . Changes in these rocks are spurred either by collisions that occur at the boundaries of colliding tectonic plates or intense and underground. Common types of metamorphic rocks include marble, soapstone, slate, and gneiss.

Although they might seem rather , rocks actually change over the course of millions of years as part of what scientists call the . For example, a volcano erupts, spewing that turns into igneous .

Over time, weather erodes that igneous , turning it into small pieces of . In turn, those pieces of become layers of compacted that turn into sedimentary over the course of millions of years.

Over millions of more years, that sedimentary gets buried under other rocks and ends up deep underground. and deep in the Earth's crust turn the sedimentary into metamorphic , and the can start all over again! Of course, rocks don't have to follow this exact progression. There's a nearly endless variety of ways rocks can turn from one type into another in a never-ending .

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Do you like to know how things are made? For example, when you order a grilled cheese sandwich, do you like to know what kind of bread and cheese are going to be used? If you don't want a Swiss cheese on rye sandwich, then you probably have an interest in how your sandwich is constructed.

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The Rock Cycle | Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Igneous | Learning Made Fun

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There are all kinds of rocks and minerals that make up our planet - as well as our Moon and other rocky worlds. By studying them, we can learn about the conditions that allowed them to form.

In this activity, you'll learn how NASA studies rocks on Earth and other planets. Then, play the role of NASA scientist to match images of "rocks" made of candy bars with their correct descriptions.

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Student Project: Describe Rocks Like a NASA Scientist | NASA/JPL Edu

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There are all kinds of rocks and minerals that make up our planet - as well as our Moon and other rocky worlds. By studying them, we can learn about the conditions that allowed them to form. In this activity, you'll learn how NASA studies rocks on Earth and other planets.

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Rocks and Minerals | Science Trek | PBS LearningMedia

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This video segment from IdahoPTV's Science Trek defines the different types of rock and how they are formed. Learn about the ways rocks are classified and find out all the ways rocks can be changed.

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R ocks exposed in the Commonwealth of Virginia record the advance of ancient shorelines, the collision of continents, the tracks of long-extinct dinosaurs, and over one billion years of geologic history. Virginia has a diverse landscape that extends from the high rocky summits in the Blue Ridge Mountains to low-lying barrier islands exposed to the Atlantic Ocean.

Geology is more than ancient rocks and fossils, modern geologic processes impact Virginia's environment in many ways: from coastal erosion due to storms and sea-level rise to groundwater pollution, landslides, and earthquakes.

Begin discovering the geology and geologic history of Virginia by clicking on any of the Commonwealth's five provinces on the map above. If you're new to geology, check our Term Definition Section, the Rock Cycle, and Geologic Time Table, to familiarize yourself with the geological terminology.

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Rocks exposed in the Commonwealth of Virginia record the advance of ancient shorelines, the collision of continents, the tracks of long-extinct dinosaurs, and over one billion years of geologic history. Virginia has a diverse landscape that extends from the high rocky summits in the Blue Ridge Mountains to low-lying barrier islands exposed to the ...

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Brooke Weston Academy is a leading secondary school in the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

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Earth Science for Kids: Rocks, Rock Cycle, and Formation

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Kids learn about the science of rocks and the rock cycle. How different types such as igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic form from minerals with the help of nature.

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Rock Types and the Rock Cycle: Igneous Sedimentary Metamorphic