What term describes rock that forms when existing rocks are altered by heat and pressure but do not melt?

Study for the North Carolina Grade 8 End-of-Grade Science Test. Prepare with multiple choice questions, each question has hints and explanations. Ace your exam!

Multiple Choice

What term describes rock that forms when existing rocks are altered by heat and pressure but do not melt?

Explanation:
Metamorphic rock describes rocks that have been transformed by heat and pressure while staying solid. Under those conditions minerals rearrange or recrystallize into new minerals stable at higher temperatures or pressures, changing the rock’s texture and composition without melting. You can see foliated textures like in slate or schist, where minerals align into bands, or nonfoliated textures like marble where the minerals recrystallize more randomly. This is different from rocks formed by melting and cooling (igneous rocks) and from sedimentary rocks formed by weathering, erosion, deposition, and cementation. Clastic rocks are a type of sedimentary rock made from fragments, not from solid-state transformation.

Metamorphic rock describes rocks that have been transformed by heat and pressure while staying solid. Under those conditions minerals rearrange or recrystallize into new minerals stable at higher temperatures or pressures, changing the rock’s texture and composition without melting. You can see foliated textures like in slate or schist, where minerals align into bands, or nonfoliated textures like marble where the minerals recrystallize more randomly. This is different from rocks formed by melting and cooling (igneous rocks) and from sedimentary rocks formed by weathering, erosion, deposition, and cementation. Clastic rocks are a type of sedimentary rock made from fragments, not from solid-state transformation.

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