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The Changing Landscapes of the UK

The UK’s rock types and geology

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

How sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks form, where chalk, sandstone, granite, basalt, schist and slate occur, why uplands stand high and the south and east are gentle, the Tees–Exe line, past plate collisions and volcanic activity, and reading geological cross sections.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Process

How do sedimentary and igneous rocks form, why do granite and basalt differ, and where in Britain are they found?

Key term

How is a metamorphic rock made, why does slate split into sheets, and what did ancient volcanoes leave in the British landscape?

Key term

How does a sedimentary rock come into being?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How does a sedimentary rock come into being?

    Model answer

    Layers of sediment or the remains of dead organisms settle, then are compacted and cemented together over millions of years.

  2. 2

    What is chalk made from, and what sort of scenery does it produce?

    Model answer

    It is a soft, permeable rock built from the shells of tiny sea creatures, and it weathers into rolling hills and steep escarpments such as the North Downs, South Downs and Chilterns.

  3. 3

    Describe the make-up of sandstone and say where in Britain it is widespread.

    Model answer

    It is grains of sand cemented together, porous but fairly tough, and it forms the ridges and moorland edges of the Pennines and much of northern and central England.

  4. 4

    What has to happen for an igneous rock to form?

    Model answer

    Molten magma or lava cools and crystallises, producing a hard, interlocking crystal structure with few lines of weakness.

  5. 5

    Why does granite have large crystals while basalt has tiny ones?

    Model answer

    Granite cooled slowly deep underground, giving crystals time to grow, whereas basalt cooled quickly as lava at the surface.

  6. 6

    Name two upland areas of Britain that sit on granite, and one place where basalt dominates.

    Model answer

    Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor in the south-west sit on granite, and the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland is basalt.

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