SC15.ESS.10

Science (2015) Grade(s): 09-12 - Earth and Space Science

Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions

Stability and Change

Students know:

Minerals make up rocks.
Rocks are formed in many environments upon and within the Earth's crust.
Igneous rock is formed by the cooling of magma inside the Earth or on the surface.
Sedimentary rock is formed from the products of weathering by cementation or precipitation on the Earth's surface.
Metamorphic rock, is formed by temperature and pressure changes inside the Earth.

Students are able to:

Construct an explanation that includes specific cause and effect relationships for formation of each type of rock.
Identify and describe evidence to construct an explanation such as cooling of magma at different rates form various types of igneous rocks, cementing of materials together or precipitation to form different sedimentary rocks, and pressure and temperature changes within the crust and upper mantle to form metamorphic rock.
Use reasoning to connect the evidence to explain transformation of rocks in the Earth's crust.

Students understand that:

Earth is a complex system of interacting subsystems: the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.
The geosphere includes a hot and mostly metallic inner core: a mantle of hot, soft, solid rock: and a crust of rock, soil, and sediments.
Solid rocks can be formed by the cooling of molten rock, the accumulation and consolidation of sediments, or the alteration of older rocks by heat, pressure, and fluids.

Science Rocks!