Read the rock cycle starting with the soil and sediment beneath your feet. This material is usually at the top of the rock cycle, and it goes through a couple of significant processes before it is turned back into rock. It is weathered, or broken down, and then eroded, or transported, to where it is deposited by wind or water. The deposited sediment is then buried, where it undergoes the next step in the rock cycle.
Identify where the sediment is deposited in the rock cycle. At this point the deposited sediment can be compacted or cemented into sedimentary rocks. The sedimentary rocks may be uplifted back to the surface or may undergo additional compaction and melting, due to pressure and/or temperature, which may turn the sedimentary rocks into metamorphic rocks. The metamorphic rocks may be uplifted to the surface or undergo additional pressure and elevated temperatures.
Find the metamorphic rocks in the rock cycle. Metamorphic rocks that are not uplifted to the surface undergo additional pressure and high temperatures, which cause melting and the formation of intrusive or extrusive igneous rocks. Intrusive rocks cool beneath the surface and are slowly uplifted to the surface. Extrusive rocks are forced to the Earth's surface and cool at the surface. All uplifted rocks are then subject to weathering, erosion and deposition as the rock cycle starts over.