Unit 8G

Rocks and Weathering

Name: ……………………………..

Year 8: …………

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Unit 8G: Rocks and Weathering
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What are rocks made of?
The Earth is very old, around 4600 million years. It has a central part called the core which is made of iron and
a bit of nickel. The core is very hot indeed. Around the core is a hot semi-liquid rock layer called mantle.
Covering this is the cooler solid surface layer that we live on. This is the crust, made of rocks and minerals.

What is a mineral?
Minerals are the solid substances that make up the Earth’s crust. Minerals have a definite composition, a regular
structure and are often a single colour. Most minerals are compounds, though a few are elements. The table
shows some minerals.

What is a rock?
A rock is a mixture of minerals. The minerals are in little pieces called grains. In some rocks the grains are large
and you can see them with the naked eye. If a rock has a mixture of grains, it might look multi-coloured or
speckled.
Other rocks are crystalline. They have smooth faces which reflect light and so appear shiny. The grains have
formed crystals that fit together so you can’t see the individual grains.

Atoms of elements → molecules of compounds → grains of minerals → fragments of rock → large pieces of
rock → outcrops of rock.

Weathering
Weathering is breaking down rocks into smaller bits.
There are three types of weathering you need to know about.

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1- Physical weathering: also called mechanical weathering, caused by physical factors such as temperature
changes.
a) Onion skin weathering: this happens when the Sun warms the surface of a rock by day and then by night it
cools down. This causes the surface to expand and contract, and eventually it breaks away, like peeling an
onion.

b) Freeze- thaw weathering: when water freezes it expands, if this happens in a crack in a rock it can make the
crack bigger. After freezing and thawing many times bits break off.

2- Chemical weathering: caused by chemical reactions such as the action of rainwater on certain minerals in a
rock.
Rain is naturally acidic due to carbon dioxide in the air, but pollution causes it to become more acidic. If it rains
onto carbonate rocks like limestone, they undergo a chemical reaction. This breaks down the rock.

3- Biological weathering: digging animals or growing plant roots can make cracks in rock bigger until bits of
rock fall off.

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Q1:
Sorting rocks into groups

1- Complete the chart.

2- In the boxes, add drawings of six grains of each type of rock.

Show how the grains fit together.

3- Complete the sentences.

In porous rocks, the ___________________ are full of air or other substances.
When we put porous rocks in water, ___________________ bubbles come out of the pores.
_________________ goes into the pores.
Water in wells and boreholes comes out of the pores of __________________ rocks.

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Q2:
Rocks and rain

Weather breaks down rocks. We call this process weathering.

1- Complete the sentences.
The surface of the pebble is ________________ and the inside is _________________.
Parts of the lion have disappeared. It is weathered. These changes took _____________________ years.

2- Complete the diagram.

Q3:
Weathering of granite

1- Granite contains the minerals feldspar, mica and quartz.

Finish the table by writing in the names of the minerals.

2- The three minerals in granite weather in different ways.

Use the chart to help you fill in the table.
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Q4:
Rocks and temperature changes

What happens when water in rocks freezes?

1- The sentences about weathering are in the wrong order.
Arrange them in the correct order.

What happens as rocks heat up and cool down?

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2- Look at the table. Only one word in each set of brackets is right. Cross out the words that are wrong.

3- Complete these sentences.

Q5:
What happens to the weathered pieces of rocks?

1- Match the words with their meanings.

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2- Complete the following table.

Q6:
Why do sediments form layers?
1- Complete the table by crossing out one word in each set of brackets.

2- Complete the following sentences.

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3- The sentences in the boxes are about how dissolved solids or salts become concentrated in seas and lakes.

Q7:
How do dissolved substances form rocks?

1- a) What makes the water in the lake evaporate?

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b) How do crystals form in the lake?
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2- Match the two parts of the sentences together by drawing a line between them.

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Q8:
Rocks formed when water evaporates from a solution
You have probably done an experiment like this.

Q9:
Scientists who taught us how to understand rocks

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Q10:
Stories in rocks

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