Year 8 - Science
Metamorphic rock
Earth's resources
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores Earth's composition, structure, and rock cycle, including the formation of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. It also examines Earth as a source of limited resources and the importance of recycling, alongside skills in making and evaluating observations and measurements.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe how rock can be changed deep underground.
Key Notes
- In a crystal, the atoms are all arranged in a very regular pattern.
- In some substances, very high pressure, at a high temperature, can push particles together to form crystals.
- Between tectonic plates, the pressure and temperature are high enough for large crystals to grow inside solid rock.
- Metamorphic rocks form under extreme pressure and temperature, altering original structures.
- Aligned crystals in metamorphic rocks give them useful properties (e.g. decoration or easily separated into sheets).
Vocabulary To Learn
- pressure: The effect of a force acting over an area.
- metamorphic rock: Rocks that have changed due to heat and/or pressure (e.g. marble, slate).
- aligned: Grains that line up in the same direction are described as aligned.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pressure and heating caused by burying alone is enough to cause metamorphism or rock to melt.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
In a crystal, the atoms are all arranged in a very regular pattern. In some substances, very high pressure, at a high temperature, can push particles together to form crystals.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'pressure'
The effect of a force acting over an area. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pressure and heating caused by burying alone is enough to cause metamorphism or rock to melt. Correction: Highlight that the temperatures / pressures needed for metamorphism or rocks to melt are typically found at plate boundaries / hot spots.
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