What are the parts of the rock cycle? How does the rock cycle work?

All of the igneous rocks on Earth were once magma that cooled and hardened beneath the earth's surface, or that reached the surface and cooled. Igneous rocks, whether they are on the surface or below, are constantly changing due to physical and chemical processes that create sedimentary, metamorphic, and new igneous rock.

The rock cycle consists of three main stages:

1. Igneous rocks are formed from the cooling and solidification of molten magma or lava.
2. Sedimentary rocks are formed from the accumulation and compaction of sediment, often through processes like erosion, deposition, and lithification.
3. Metamorphic rocks are formed from existing rocks that undergo heat, pressure, or chemical changes without melting completely.

The rock cycle works by continuously transforming rocks from one type to another through these processes: weathering and erosion, transportation, deposition, compaction, cementation, melting, crystallization, heat, and pressure.