How can igneous rocks become sedimentary rocks?

How can igneous rocks become sedimentary rocks?

• A. Melting and cooling.
• B. Weathering and erosion produce sediments that are compacted and cemented into sedimentary rocks.
• C. Folding and metamorphism under high pressure.
• D. Intrusion of magma into surrounding rocks.

Answer: (B)

Igneous rocks become sedimentary rocks when they are worn down at the surface into sediments, which are then deposited in layers and later compacted and cemented together. Weathering and erosion break the igneous rock into particles that are transported by wind, water, or ice and accumulate as sediment. Over time, the weight of accumulating layers compresses the grains, and minerals precipitate from groundwater to glue them together, forming sedimentary rock. The other options describe processes that either melt and reform rocks, create metamorphic rocks through pressure and heat, or involve magma intrusions that produce igneous features rather than sedimentary rock, so they don’t explain how igneous rocks become sedimentary.

Igneous rocks become sedimentary rocks when they are worn down at the surface into sediments, which are then deposited in layers and later compacted and cemented together. Weathering and erosion break the igneous rock into particles that are transported by wind, water, or ice and accumulate as sediment. Over time, the weight of accumulating layers compresses the grains, and minerals precipitate from groundwater to glue them together, forming sedimentary rock. The other options describe processes that either melt and reform rocks, create metamorphic rocks through pressure and heat, or involve magma intrusions that produce igneous features rather than sedimentary rock, so they don’t explain how igneous rocks become sedimentary.