All terms in this list:

Molten: In molten form.

Inorganic: Lifeless; Having no characteristic of living things; Not alive; Not produced by living things.

Magma: Hot molten minerals inside of the earth.

Lava: Hot molten minerals on the earth's surface.

Felsic: Made mostly of light colored minerals.

Mafic: Made mostly of dark colored minerals.

Silicate mineral: Minerals that contain both silica (Si) and oxygen (O) in their chemical composition.

Igneous rock: A classification of rock that is formed by the rock cycle process of cooling and crystallization of molten minerals.

Sedimentary rock: A classification of rock that is formed by the rock cycle process of deposition, burial, and lithification.

Metamorphic rock: A classification of rock that is formed when existing rocks have been changed by the rock cycle process of burial, heat, and pressure.

Rock cycle: A continuous cycle of natural processes that cause one classification of rock to become another classification of rock.

Paleomagnetism: A record of the Earth's magnetic field preserved by the alignment of magnetic minerals in the rocks of earth’s crust at the time that the rocks were formed.

Metamorphism: To change properties of any type of rock.

Supersaturation: The point at which a solution becomes overfilled with minerals and can no longer dissolve any more solid minerals.

Evaporite mineral: Minerals that are precipitated out of solution.

Sediments: Bits and pieces of rock or the remains of once living things.

Deposition: The process of sediments being dropped on the earth's surface.

Element: Matter that is made up of only one kind of atom.

Radioactive element: An element that decays to form a new more stable element.

Compound: Matter that is made of two or more elements.

Rock: A naturally formed, solid material made of one or more minerals.

Mineral: A solid, naturally made, inorganic element or compound that has one of a kind chemical composition and a definite arrangement of atoms.

Solution: A mixture of dissolved minerals and liquid(salt water).

Precipitate: To cause solid materials to be separated from solution.

Luster: A property that shows the way a mineral reflects light.

Streak: A property that shows the true color of a mineral.

Hardness: A property that shows how well a mineral resists being scratched.

Crystallization: The cooling and hardening of molten minerals.

Compaction: The process of sediments being pressed tightly together.

Lithification: The process of sediments being compacted and cemented together.