The Rock Cycle Interactive Simulation

The rock cycle describes how rocks continuously transform between three types over geological time. Magma cools to form igneous rock; weathering and erosion break it into sediment that compacts into sedimentary rock; heat and pressure transform any rock into metamorphic rock; and extreme heat melts rock back to magma — completing the cycle. Students can change rock type and compare what happens. Use it for earth science inquiry with Grades 4–5, Middle School, and High School on a projector or student device.

Standards: NGSS MS-ESS2-1

• How igneous rocks form differently above ground (fine crystals from lava) vs. underground (coarse crystals from slow-cooling magma)
• Why sedimentary rocks often contain fossils while igneous and metamorphic rocks do not
• What the difference is between metamorphic rocks formed by heat vs. those formed by pressure
• How plate tectonics drives the rock cycle — subduction melts crust, collisions cause pressure/heat
• Why the rock cycle operates over millions of years and how geologists read 'rock history'

1. 1Predict how changing rock type will affect the visible outcome, then test the prediction.
2. 2Use evidence from the interactive visual to explain the result.

Questions teachers ask