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SavannahYear 8
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ScienceEarth and climate26 min★★ difficulty

Earth structure and the rock cycle

Beneath your feet, rock is being endlessly recycled over millions of years, driven by heat, pressure and the weather.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Chemistry: Earth and atmosphere: Understand the composition of the Earth and its atmosphere, and the rock cycle and the formation of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Understand the composition of the Earth and its atmosphere, and the rock cycle and the formation of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

Key learning points

  • • Earth's structure and atmosphere
  • • Three rock types
  • • The rock cycle

This lesson at a glance

  • 26 minutes
  • 14 parts to scroll through
  • 3 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

compositionatmosphereformationigneoussedimentary

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 14 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 14

Watch first

Earth structure and the rock cycle

An English teaching video on this topic from CENTURY Tech. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Understand the composition of the Earth and its atmosphere, and the rock cycle and the formation of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 14

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Earth's structure and atmosphere

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 14

Learn

Earth's structure and atmosphere

The Earth has a thin rocky crust, a mostly solid mantle, and a core made largely of iron and nickel (liquid outer, solid inner). The current atmosphere is roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with small amounts of carbon dioxide, argon and water vapour.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 14

Learn

Three rock types

Igneous rock forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies, e.g. granite or basalt. Sedimentary rock forms when layers of sediment are compacted and cemented together over time, e.g. sandstone or limestone, often containing fossils. Metamorphic rock forms when existing rock is changed by heat and pressure without melting, e.g. marble from limestone.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 14

Quick check

Which rock type forms from cooling magma or lava?

6

Reset break

Part 6 of 14

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
7

Quick check

Part 7 of 14

Quick check

Which gas makes up the largest percentage of today's atmosphere?

8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 14

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · The rock cycle

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 14

Learn

The rock cycle

Rocks are continually recycled: weathering and erosion break rocks into sediment; burial and pressure turn sediment into sedimentary rock; heat and pressure can transform any rock into metamorphic rock; and extreme heat can melt rock, which cools to form new igneous rock.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 14

Quick check

How does marble form from limestone?

11

Challenge round

Part 11 of 14

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

12

Challenge round

Part 12 of 14

Game · Fill the gaps

Finish the sentences

Choose the word that belongs in each gap.

The current ____ is roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, with small amounts of carbon dioxide, argon and water vapour.

____ rock forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies, e.g.

____ rock forms when layers of sediment are compacted and cemented together over time, e.g.

13

Mastery quiz

Part 13 of 14

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: Earth structure and the rock cycle

3 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. Which rock type forms from cooling magma or lava?

  2. 2. Which gas makes up the largest percentage of today's atmosphere?

  3. 3. How does marble form from limestone?

14

Lesson round-up

Part 14 of 14

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 3 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Case study

Why the school greenhouse failed

A science club grew tomato plants in the school greenhouse. In June the plants grew well: leaves were dark green and the fruit set quickly. In July the club went away for two weeks and left the greenhouse door shut. When they came back, the leaves were curled and pale and most of the fruit had dropped.

The club had a data logger inside. It showed the temperature reached 46 °C on several afternoons and the soil moisture fell close to zero. The club knew photosynthesis needs light, water and carbon dioxide, and that enzymes in a plant work best in a narrow range of temperature. Above that range the enzymes stop working properly.

The club repeated the summer with the door propped open and a water bottle drip on each pot. Temperature peaked at 31 °C and the plants survived.

Written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. Name the variable the club changed the second time, and one variable they kept the same.
  2. Explain, using the words photosynthesis and enzymes, why the plants were damaged in July.
  3. Write a conclusion for the club's report, saying how far the evidence supports it.

  • Method and results

    Writing

    Write the aim, what you changed, what you measured and what you kept the same, then record your results in a table.

    1 page + results table

  • Conclusion

    Writing

    Explain what your results show and why, using the scientific words from the lesson. Say how you know you can trust them.

    6–8 sentences

  • Labelled diagram

    Diagram

    Draw the apparatus or the process in pencil, label it fully, and photograph it.

    1 labelled diagram

  • Reading and notes

    Reading

    Read the lesson text again and write the key ideas in your own words.

    Half a page of notes

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 14 · Watch & discover

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    Understand the composition of the Earth and its atmosphere, and the rock cycle and the formation of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

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