S3 Science: The Rock Cycle And Earth Resources (Paper 4 (error Clinic))

S3 Science: The Rock Cycle and Earth Resources (Paper 4 (error clinic))

2026-11-14

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Tutor Prep Guide · the three rock types, magma cooling and crystal size, bedding and fossils, weathering against erosion, transport and deposition, metamorphism, soil formation, renewable and non-renewable resources, impacts of quarrying, the three Rs and site restoration

S3 Science: The Rock Cycle and Earth Resources (Paper 4 (error clinic))

This paper corrects ten common errors on rocks and resources, covering a one way rock cycle, fossils in igneous rock, gravel and sand sizes, the origin of metamorphic rock, weathering against erosion, reuse against recycling, and three kinds of calculation on deposition time, restoration years and replacement rates.

Direct answers　The rock cycle repeats; fossils occur only in sedimentary rock; gravel is coarser than sand; metamorphic rock comes from heat and pressure; moved fragments mean erosion; reuse uses the same item; deposition time needs consistent units; restoration years is area over yearly rate; the saving is use times rate; cutting use at the source works best.

01　Paper details (check answers afterwards)

Item	Detail
Questions	10
Suggested time	20
Difficulty mix	Foundation 3 · Intermediate 3 · Challenge 3 · Error redo 1
Chapter	Chapter: S3 Science: The Rock Cycle and Earth Resources
Level	S3

02　Questions (10 items)

FoundationDoes the rock cycle happen only once and then stop?
FoundationCan fossils be preserved in igneous rock?
FoundationIs it true that gravel is finer than sand?
IntermediateDoes metamorphic rock form by cooling magma?
IntermediateRain washes loose fragments from a slope into a river. Is that weathering or erosion?
IntermediateMelting old bottles to make new ones is recycling or reuse?
ChallengeA 1 cm layer of rock takes 200 years to deposit. How long does a 5 m layer take?
ChallengeA quarry must restore 30 hectares and can restore 4 hectares a year. How many years does it take?
ChallengeA region uses 1.2 million tonnes of cement a year and recycled material can replace 35 percent. How much cement is saved each year?
Error redoSomeone thinks good recycling removes the need to cut use. What is the problem?

03　Answers and one-line notes

#	Answer	One-line note
1	No, the rock cycle repeats again and again	The same material can become igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock many times over.
2	No, the heat of magma destroys the remains	Only low temperature deposition has a chance of preserving remains as fossils.
3	No, gravel is coarser than sand	Sediment usually runs from coarse to fine as gravel, sand, silt and clay.
4	No, it forms when existing rock is changed by heat and pressure	The rock does not melt during metamorphism, so some features of the original rock are kept.
5	Erosion and transport	The fragments have already been moved away, so this goes beyond weathering.
6	Recycling	Reuse means using the same item again, while recycling reprocesses the material.
7	100000 years	5 m is 500 cm, and 500 times 200 gives 100000.
8	7.5 years	Dividing 30 by 4 gives 7.5.
9	420000 tonnes	Multiplying 1200000 by 0.35 gives 420000.
10	Recycling cannot keep up with rising demand, and cutting use at the source works best	Recycling is limited by technology and energy and cannot offset ever growing consumption.

04　What to do after marking

After marking, redo only the wrong items and write down which step went wrong (formula, unit, or misread number).
Repeat the same item two days later; move to the next paper only when both attempts are correct.
Parents only need the answer and note columns; there is no need to explain every item.

For any rock question first ask how it formed: cooling gives igneous, layer upon layer gives sedimentary, and heat with pressure gives metamorphic; once fragments have moved away it is erosion and transport, not weathering.Tutor Registration →

Questions and answers are written originally by the TutorZone team and are not taken from any school, publisher or examination authority paper. Every value is checked by computer.