Minerals, rocks, and the rock cycle atoms’ elements minerals rocks. protons, neutrons, electrons. covalent and ionic bonding the rock cycle: the three major types of rocks, how they are formed, and how they can be changed (i. e. rock cycle processes: melting, crystallization, erosion, compaction, lithification, and metamorphism). the eight most common elements in the earth's crust. igneous rocks: how they form magma vs. lava plutonic (intrusive) vs. volcanic (extrusive) rocks igneous rock textures, and how they form (fine-grained, vesicular, coarse-grained, porphyritic, glassy, frothy—how rate of cooling influences these). examples of each of these type of igneous rock (i. e. granite is an example of coarse-grained, etc.) sedimentary rocks: weathering: two types, and differences between them. examples of the two type of weathering. lithification processes: compaction, cementation. the percentage of earth's surface covered with sedimentary rocks examples of the economic value of sedimentary rocks. the three basic types of sedimentary rocks (detrital, bioclastic, crystalline) and how each one of those forms. within the category of detrital rocks, how distance from sediment source affects grain size, i. e. breccia conglomerate sandstone shale. within biochemical rocks: coquina fossiliferous limestone bituminous coal. within crystalline rocks, rocks precipitating in solution vs. those formed from evaporation. crystalline limestone