Learning Map
ScienceMatter & Materialsusually ages 12–14

The Rock Cycle

Explain the rock cycle: how igneous rocks form from magma, sedimentary rocks from compressed sediment, and metamorphic rocks from heat and pressure, and how all rock types can transform into one another over geological time

How to tell they’ve got it

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Try this together

If your child picked up a piece of marble on a school trip, could they explain how it was originally limestone, what changed it into marble, and how long that process took?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on
Properties of materialsages 7–8The rock cycle requires prior knowledge of rock types (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic) and their observable properties
Rocks and soilages 7–8Understanding that soils are derived from weathered rock provides concrete grounding for rock cycle weathering and erosion processes
How Tectonic Plates Moveages 11–12KS3 rock cycle (igneous/sedimentary/metamorphic) provides material science context for plate boundary processes
The Rock Cyclethis skill · ages 12–14
Unlocks
Nothing on the map depends on this yet.

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

This skill sits beyond Year 6 in the Australian Curriculum, so no F–6 code is matched. It also sits beyond the NSW K–6 syllabuses. It also sits beyond Level 6 in the Victorian Curriculum.

Nearby on the map

Acid Reactions & Saltsages 12–13 Acids, Alkalis & pHages 12–13 Earth's Atmosphere & CO2ages 12–14 Finite Resources & Recyclingages 12–14

All Matter & Materials skills →