• Question: how is a rock formed

    Asked by hhussain to Zena, Jared, Isabel, Ian, Frank on 11 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Zena Hadjivasiliou

      Zena Hadjivasiliou answered on 11 Mar 2015:

      Hello! To be honest I don’t really know! But I looked it up a little bit so lets see if I can explain what I found to you.

      There are many kinds of rocks first of all (I’m sure you’ve noticed this!) and there are a few different ways in which rocks can form. The first kind of rock is that made from a lot of tiny tiny particles coming together (like sand or mud) and settling down together. These tiny particles or grains are in contact with each other, and if they all get buried together or if there is a lot of weight and pressure on them they get closer and closer to each other and they end up merging into a rock (wow!).

      Another way in which rocks can be formed is by the sudden cooling down of lava, for example when volcanos erupt!

      Hmmm I hope this helps a little bit — I certainly have learned something new 🙂

    • Photo: Isabel Pires

      Isabel Pires answered on 12 Mar 2015:

      Ohhh, a geology question! I used to be a big geology geek, lets see if I can remember some of it!

      Rocks can be of various types. The main three types are:
      – igneous rocks, which form directly from the magma from volcanoes (such as obsidian or basalt) or the molten materials in the earths core which then surface up (such as granite)
      – sedimentary rocks (like sandstone), form by millions of years of the pilling up of materials such as sand on top of each other; that’s where you’ll find fossils 🙂
      – metamorphic rocks, which are rocks that are formed when other rocks (igneous or sedimentary or even other metamorphic!) go back under the Earth’s crust or are subjected to a lot of pressure/heat, and then changes the nature of the materials that make them; an example of this is slate or marble.

      I have to say, I really love geology 🙂

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