Earth Science – Foundational terminology What is the name of the conceptual model in geology that explains how different Earth processes (such as melting, cooling, weathering, erosion, deposition, heat, and pressure) create, modify, and transform rocks from one type to another over geological time?

Introduction / Context:
The question tests your understanding of a core unifying framework in geology. Just as the hydrologic (water) cycle describes movements of water, geology uses a parallel idea to explain how igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks continuously transform under Earth processes.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We seek the accepted geological model that links rock formation and transformation.
• Processes considered include melting, crystallization, weathering, erosion, deposition, compaction, cementation, heat, and pressure.
• Exactly one option correctly names this model.

Concept / Approach:
The correct framework is the “rock cycle.” It shows how igneous rocks (from solidified magma/lava) can weather into sediments that lithify into sedimentary rocks, which under heat and pressure become metamorphic. Metamorphic rocks can remelt to feed magma again, closing the cycle. Energy drivers include internal heat (tectonics, magmatism) and external agents (climate, water, wind, ice).

Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify required concept: a model linking all rock types and processes.Match terminology: only “rock cycle” names that integrated transformation.Eliminate distractors: “water cycle” describes water pathways, “energy cycle” is too vague.

Verification / Alternative check:
Geology texts show a rock cycle diagram with arrows between igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic fields, annotated by key processes (melting, cooling, weathering, metamorphism).

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• water cycle: concerns evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff—about water, not rocks.
• energy cycle: imprecise label; no standard geologic model by this name.
• None of the above: incorrect because “rock cycle” is the established term.

Common Pitfalls:
Thinking cycles must be strictly circular; the rock cycle is a network—paths can branch or skip steps depending on conditions.

Final Answer:
rock cycle