What is it
Children learn to compare and group rocks based on their appearance and simple physical properties, describe in simple terms how fossils are formed, and recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter.
Why it matters
This gives children an early sense of geological time and evidence-based reasoning about the past, ideas that reappear in GCSE chemistry's Earth topics and biology's evolution topics.
Exam tip
Learn the correct order of the three main rock types by formation process (igneous — cooled from magma, sedimentary — layers compressed, metamorphic — changed by heat/pressure), since 'which type and why' questions are common.
Related topics
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