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6th grade How rocks change from one kind to another worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

Level: Building Confidence · On Level · Challenge Me

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How rocks change from one kind to another

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. On a hike, Ari finds a rock made of sand grains pressed together in flat layers, with a tiny shell fossil inside. Which type of rock is it?

    • Igneous
    • Magma
    • Sedimentary
    • Metamorphic
  2. Bo reads about lava that poured from a volcano, then cooled and hardened into dark rock. Which type of rock formed?

    • Sedimentary
    • Metamorphic, since the lava was hot
    • Sediment
    • Igneous
  3. On the diagram, arrows from all three rock types point to magma. Which process belongs on those arrows, says Luz?

    • Pressing and cementing
    • Weathering
    • Melting
    • Just igneous rock melts; the rest cannot
  4. An arrow on Milo's diagram runs from igneous rock to sediment. Which processes belong on that arrow?

    • No arrow; igneous rock must turn metamorphic next
    • Weathering and erosion
    • Heat and pressure
    • Melting and cooling
  5. The kitchen counter at Noah's place is granite, with large crystals you can see. Which type of rock is granite?

    • Igneous
    • Metamorphic
    • Sediment
    • Sedimentary
  6. Pia learns that slate starts as shale, a mudstone, and is changed by heat and pressure underground. Which type of rock is slate?

    • Metamorphic
    • Sedimentary, like the shale it came from
    • Igneous, because heat was involved
    • Magma that cooled
  7. Cross-section, not to scale: bits of shell settling on a sea floor and forming layers. Ren learns that much limestone forms from bits of shell piling up on the sea floor and hardening. Which type of rock is it?

    • Igneous rock
    • Sedimentary rock
    • Lava rock
    • Metamorphic rock
  8. Wind and rain slowly wear a mountain down into sand. Which energy source powers the wind and rain, in Tala's science book?

    • Heat from lava
    • The Moon's pull
    • Earth's inner heat
    • The Sun
  9. Rock melts into magma deep underground. Which energy source does that, according to Zee's notes?

    • Earth's inner heat
    • Rain seeping down to the magma
    • Wind blowing on the rock
    • Sunlight soaking into the ground
  10. “Cross-section, not to scale:” Granite buried deep under a mountain range is heated and squeezed into gneiss. What supplies the heat, as Esme explains?

    • The Moon's pull on the mountain
    • Earth's inner heat
    • Rain rubbing on the rock
    • Sunlight warming the mountain
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6th grade How rocks change from one kind to another worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

How rocks change from one kind to another. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can name the three rock types from how they formed: melt and cool (igneous), settle and cement (sedimentary), heat and squeeze without melting (metamorphic).
  • I can follow any path around the rock cycle and name the process and energy on each arrow.
  • I can use clues (crystal size, layers, fossils, bands) to tell how a rock formed.

Standard: MS-ESS2-1

Words to know

igneous rock: Rock formed when melted rock cools and hardens

sedimentary rock: Rock formed from pieces laid down in layers, pressed and cemented

metamorphic rock: Rock changed by heat and pressure while it stays solid

magma / lava: Melted rock underground / melted rock that reaches the surface

sediment: Loose pieces of rock, sand, mud or shell

crystal: A mineral grain with a regular shape; slow cooling grows bigger ones

Common mistakes

Your child matched a rock to another rock type's process. Practice the three: melt and cool (igneous), settle and cement (sedimentary), heat and squeeze (metamorphic).

Your child thought metamorphic rock forms by melting. Explain that metamorphic rock changes while it stays solid; melted rock is magma, which cools into igneous rock.

Your child mixed up how cooling speed sets crystal size. Slow cooling underground grows big crystals; fast cooling at the surface makes tiny ones.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with how rocks change from one kind to another?

Your child matched a rock to another rock type's process. Practice the three: melt and cool (igneous), settle and cement (sedimentary), heat and squeeze (metamorphic).

Are these 6th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

More grade 6 science

See all grade 6 science

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