Lesson T9.2.1

T9.2.1 The rock cycle Quiz: KS3 Chemistry, Unit 9

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T9.2.1, The rock cycle: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Chemistry (National Curriculum), Unit 9: Earth and atmosphere, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What is the rock cycle?

    • A process where rocks never change once they have been formed
    • A process that makes rocks only from liquid water and minerals
    • The continuous process by which rocks change from one type to another
    • A process that turns metals into rocks over a long period of time

  2. Which process breaks rocks into smaller pieces at the Earth's surface?

    • Weathering
    • Crystallisation
    • Magma formation
    • Metamorphism

  3. What happens to sediment after it is carried away by water or wind?

    • It becomes a gas and rises into air
    • It turns into iron ore over time
    • It melts into magma deep underground
    • It is deposited in layers

  4. What is magma when it reaches the surface of the Earth?

    • Lava
    • Marble
    • Sediment
    • Limestone

  5. Which rock forms when magma cools slowly underground?

    • Igneous rock
    • Sedimentary rock
    • Clay
    • Metamorphic rock

  6. Which rock forms from layers of sediment that are squashed and cemented together?

    • Igneous rock from cooled magma
    • Molten magma from below
    • Sedimentary rock
    • Metamorphic rock

  7. Which rock forms when existing rock is changed by heat and pressure?

    • Sedimentary rock
    • Igneous rock from magma
    • Metamorphic rock
    • Loose sand and gravel

  8. Which process turns molten rock back into solid rock?

    • Deposition of sediment in water
    • Cooling and solidification
    • Erosion by wind and rain
    • Compaction of loose sediment

  9. Which stage of the rock cycle is when rock is buried deep underground and heated?

    • Erosion by water and wind
    • Weathering of cliff faces
    • Deposition of loose sediment
    • Metamorphism

  10. A rock is eroded, transported by a river and deposited in a lake. Which rock type could it eventually form?

    • Metamorphic rock only
    • Sedimentary rock
    • Magma
    • Igneous rock

  11. Why does the rock cycle have no beginning or end?

    • Rocks are made only from the remains of living things
    • Rocks can never change once they have been formed by heat
    • Rocks are only made once in the whole of the Earth's history
    • Rocks can keep changing from one type to another over time

  12. Which process forms sediment from rocks at the surface?

    • Compaction in the core
    • Metamorphism deep underground
    • Crystallisation in magma chambers
    • Weathering and erosion

  13. Which process is needed before sediment can form sedimentary rock?

    • Condensation in the atmosphere
    • Evaporation of water only
    • Compaction and cementation
    • Melting and boiling

  14. Which rock could be changed into metamorphic rock by heat and pressure?

    • Sandstone
    • Obsidian glass from lava
    • Pumice from a volcano
    • Lava from a volcano

  15. Which pair correctly matches a rock and its formation?

    • Granite formed from magma cooling underground
    • Granite formed from compacted shells in the sea floor
    • Limestone formed from molten magma that cooled quickly
    • Marble formed from cooled lava on the surface

  16. Which feature suggests a rock formed from sediment?

    • Gas bubbles made by cooling
    • Large interlocking crystals only
    • Glassy texture with no layers
    • Layers and fossils

  17. Which process turns magma into igneous rock?

    • Weathering and erosion of the rock surface
    • Cooling and crystallisation
    • Compaction of sand grains under heavy weight
    • Deposition in water and sediment layers

  18. Which stage of the rock cycle involves water and wind carrying material?

    • Metamorphism deep underground by heat
    • Solidification of lava at the surface
    • Erosion and transport
    • Crystallisation of minerals in magma

  19. Which of these is an example of a sedimentary rock?

    • Marble, a metamorphic rock
    • Slate, a metamorphic rock
    • Limestone
    • Granite, an igneous rock

  20. What is erosion?

    • The melting of rock into magma deep below the Earth's surface crust
    • The wearing away and movement of rock fragments by water, wind or ice
    • The squashing of sediment into solid rock over millions of years
    • The cooling of lava into a glassy solid at the Earth's surface

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