The continuous transformation of rocks through cycles of formation, alteration, and destruction is described by:

• A. Rock cycle
• B. Geological column
• C. Fossil progression
• D. Mineral cycle

Answer: (A)

The rock cycle describes how rocks are continually transformed through cycles of formation, alteration, and destruction. It shows how igneous rocks form when magma or lava cools, how sedimentary rocks form from sediments compacted and cemented together, and how metamorphic rocks arise from existing rocks altered by heat and pressure. When rocks melt, the cycle starts again as magma, linking all rock types into one ongoing system. This model explains both the creation of new rock material and the changes that convert one rock type into another over geologic time. The other options describe a record of rocks (geological column), life’s history in rocks (fossil progression), or movement of minerals (mineral cycle), rather than the process of rocks transforming through time.