Year 8 Earth & Space Sciences Key Words

1. The process in which sediment becomes packed together due to pressure applied.
5. The binding of sediment together by natural chemical found in water.
7. The physical force exerted on or against a rock unit.
8. A type of metamorphism where rock is altered mostly by pressure.
9. Sedimentary rock formed mainly from small rock particles.
12. Igneous rock that forms below the surface of the Earth.
14. Layers of sedimentary rock.
15. An opening in the Earth's crust through which lava, volcanic ash, and gases escape.
17. Top layer of the mantle, composed of ‘plastic’ rock.
19. Rock made by sediments being cemented together.
23. The physical, chemical and biological processes that break rocks down into smaller pieces.
24. Molten rock that reaches the Earth’s surface.
25. The extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth.
26. A process where minerals under pressure realign and the rock develops layers or bands.
27. The process in the rock cycle in which the magma becomes solid in a specific crystal structure.
29. The outermost layer of the Earth, made of solid rock.
30. A naturally occurring inorganic substance that is solid and has a crystal structure.

2. The innermost layer of the Earth.
3. Rock formed from cooling magma (or lava).
4. Sedimentary rock formed mainly from dead organisms.
6. The settling of broken rock material to form sediment.
10. The study of rocks, their history and the processes that form and change them.
11. Igneous rock that forms on the surface of the Earth.
13. The chemical process of separating metals from the compound they are within.
16. A model geologists use to explain the endless cycle of change that rocks undergo.
18. The removal of weathered rock particles from the site of weathering.
20. Rock formed when temperature and/or pressure alter existing rock.
21. Molten rock that does not reach the Earth’s surface.
22. The preserved remains of living organisms.
28. A layer of the Earth that is below the crust.