MagmaRock so hot it is entirely molten, at about 800 to 1300 °C.
Igneous rockRock formed when magma cools: slowly underground (intrusive) or quickly at the surface (extrusive).
SedimentLoose grains of weathered rock, carried away and laid down in layers.
Sedimentary rockRock made of sediment that was buried, pressed together and cemented.
Metamorphic rockRock changed by heat and pressure deep underground without melting.
The 5 processes 5
Cooling and crystallizationMagma cools and its minerals crystallize, forming igneous rock.
Weathering and erosionRock at the surface is broken down and carried away as sediment.
Compaction and cementationBuried sediment is squeezed and cemented into sedimentary rock.
Heat and pressureDeep burial heats and squeezes rock, changing it into metamorphic rock.
MeltingRock heated enough deep underground melts back into magma.
How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. (1) Steven Earle, Physical Geology (BC open textbook), 3.1 The Rock Cycle, https://opentextbc.ca/geology/chapter/3-1-the-rock-cycle/ : magma is rock hot enough to be entirely molten, about 800 to 1300 °C; it cools slowly in the crust into intrusive igneous rock or quickly at the surface into extrusive igneous rock; uplifted rock is weathered and eroded; sediment is deposited, buried, compressed and cemented into sedimentary rock; rock buried deeper is metamorphosed by heat and pressure, and may melt to form magma. (2) Penn State, Physical Geology, The rock cycle, https://psu.pb.unizin.org/geosc1hb/chapter/chapter-4-the-rock-cycle/ : igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock; weathering and erosion to sediment; deposition, compaction and cementation; heat and pressure; melting and cooling; uplift and burial. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
This rock cycle diagram quiz names a material or a process and you tap it on the drawing. The five materials are pictures round a loop, the processes are the arrows between them, and a name is written in once you find it.
Read the full guide
A simple rock cycle diagram quiz first
Five of the ten questions ask the materials. Sediment is the heap of loose grains, and sedimentary rock is the block of flat layers made from it. The block whose bands are folded is metamorphic rock. For a younger class, start from the 5 materials and those five are the whole quiz.
Name an arrow by where it points
The last five questions ask the five processes. Eight arrows carry them, so three names have two arrows each, and either arrow counts. Every arrow into sediment is weathering and erosion, every arrow into metamorphic rock is heat and pressure, and every arrow into magma is melting.
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock; quartzite is what heat and pressure make of it.
Questions and answers
What is on a rock cycle diagram?
Earth materials and the processes that turn one into another. This one has magma, igneous rock, sediment, sedimentary rock and metamorphic rock, joined by five named processes. Uplift, burial and deposition are not asked: they are steps inside the arrows shown.
Where does the rock cycle start?
Nowhere in particular: the cycle has no real beginning or end. It is convenient to begin with magma, the molten blob on the lower left of the loop.
How long does the rock cycle take?
It depends on the step. A volcanic eruption is very rapid. The uplift of a mountain range and the weathering of igneous rock are very slow, and the cycle as a whole has been turning for billions of years.
What is the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rock?
Both form from cooled magma. Intrusive igneous rock cools below the surface, as gabbro does, and extrusive igneous rock cools above it, as basalt does. The quiz asks igneous rock once, for either kind.