Download The Rock Cycle WebQuest

The Rock Cycle WebQuest
Welcome to the Rock Cycle WebQuest. In this quest, you will gather information about the rock cycle,
plate tectonics, the 3 types of rocks, erosion, fossils, and rock formation. You will be given a packet in
which to complete all of the information you gather during your quest. Remember to visit only the web
sites linked to this quest.
First, click on the book icon below to download the packet you will work on while on this quest. Click
on the icon, the click "File", then "Save As" and save the packet to your server folder before
continuing. The packet will open in a new window. Keep the packet window open to work on it while
you continue on your quest.
Now you may begin your quest. Click on each link and read the information on the web site.
When you are done with each site be sure to return to this page to continue your quest.
1. First you’ll need to know a bit about the Earth’s layers. Go to
the website below and read about the layers of the Earth:
The Earth's Crust
Now look at this animation of the earth’s layers: (click on the
green button to start the animation. You may need to click
more than once. Then click on the blue button next to the
name of each layer to see where that layer is).
Structure of the Earth
When you have viewed both of these web pages, complete
the diagram on page 1 of your packet. Then come back
to this page to move on to the second stage of your
quest.
2. The next stage of the quest will ask you to read information about the rock cycle, and complete a
diagram of the cycle. The first stop on your
quest will be to:
The Interactive Rock Cycle
Animation
Click the image to start the animation. Each time
the main animation stops, click the blinking
feature to see a new animation. After you’ve
seen the animation, close the pop up window and
click Continue.
When you have viewed all of the steps in the
rock cycle, proceed to:
Rock Cycle Diagram
3.
Move your cursor over the arrows to see a list of
the rock-forming processes involved in forming
the three types of rocks.
Now, go to these sites to read more about the rock cycle:
The Rock Cycle
The Rock Cycle 2
When you have read all the information on this page, complete page 2 of your packet. Then
come back to this page to move on to the next stage of your quest.
4.
5.
Read about Igneous rocks here: Igneous Rocks
Read about Sedimentary rocks here: Sedimentary
And here: How Sedimentary Rocks Form
And here: How Sediments Are Deposited
6. Read about Metamorphic rocks here: Metamorphic
And here: How Metamorphic Rocks Form
Learn more about different kinds of rocks here:
Rock Expert Activity
Finally, take a quiz to see what you’ve learned here:
Rock Smart Quiz
Now complete the table on page 3 of your packet. Then come back to this page to move on to
the next stage of your quest.
7. What is erosion? How does it fit into
the rock cycle? Read about erosion
here:
Erosion
And here:
Erosion
Check out the pictures of erosion and
weathering here:
The Effect of Mechanical
Weathering
And how water erosion makes
waterfalls and chasms:
River Erosion
Now complete the quiz on page 4 of
your packet. Then come back to this page to move on to the next stage of your quest.
What is Plate Tectonics? The next stage of your journey
through the rock cycle takes you back in time to the
beginning of the Earth. Some scientists believe the Earth
once had one land mass that broke into the seven continents
we now have. Read more about the theory of Plate Tectonics
here: (Be sure to click on the links for Convergent
Boundaries, Divergent Boundaries, and Transform
Boundaries)
Plate Tectonics
And here:
How Plates Move
Watch an animation of the breakup of Pangea:
Pangea Breaks Up
Watch another animation of plate tectonics here:
Plate Tectonics
Now complete the diagram on page 5 of your packet. Then come back to this page to move on to
the last stage of your quest.
Now lets move on to the final stage of our quest. We will be learning
all about fossils. Check out the information on these websites:
How Fossils Form (Animation)
Fossils For Kids
How Fossils Are Formed
Why Study Fossils?
Trilogames
When you have viewed all of these web pages, complete the questions on page 6 of
your packet. YOU ARE NOW DONE WITH YOUR WEBQUEST!! BE SURE TO PRINT OUT
YOUR PACKET AND TURN IT IN TO YOUR
TEACHER.