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Subjects · Leaving Cert Geography

Leaving Cert Geography: The rock cycle

How often The rock cycle comes up on the Geography papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 6 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

OL Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

June 2028 is the first exam on the new Geography course. These come from the 2016–2026 papers, so read them as a guide.

The rock cycle, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on The rock cycle.

(a)The three main groups of rock?
  1. Igneous, volcanic and organic
  2. Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic
  3. Sedimentary, mineral and crystalline
(b)Process that turns loose sediment into solid rock?
  1. Weathering
  2. Metamorphism
  3. Lithification
(c)Process that changes rock through heat and pressure without melting it?
  1. Metamorphism
  2. Erosion
  3. Lithification
Show the answers

(a) Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic

(b) Lithification

(c) Metamorphism

Your turn: Higher Level questions on The rock cycle.

Higher Level

Asked on 6 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026SQ4
2025Q3B
2024Not asked
2023SQ4, Q3C
2022Q1C
2021Not asked
2019Not asked
2018Q3B
2017Q3A
2016Not asked

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More The rock cycle questions

The rock cycle, 3 marks

Why is the rock cycle described as a cycle?

  1. Rocks form once and then never change
  2. It repeats exactly every million years
  3. Rocks keep changing from one type into another
Show the answer

Rocks keep changing from one type into another

Any rock can be weathered, melted or altered into another type, so material is recycled endlessly over geological time.

The rock cycle, 2 marks

Loose fragments of rock carried and laid down by water, wind or ice?

  1. Humus
  2. Sediment
  3. Magma
Show the answer

Sediment

Sediment is buried layer upon layer, then compacted and cemented into sedimentary rock.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 10 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q2C
2025Q1C
2024Q2C
2023Q2C
2022Q3C
2021Q2C
2019Q1C
2018SQ1, Q2C
2017Q2C
2016Q3B

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More The rock cycle questions

The rock cycle, 3 marks

Process that changes limestone into marble?

  1. Cooling and hardening (igneous)
  2. Deposition and cementing (sedimentary)
  3. Heat and pressure (metamorphism)
Show the answer

Heat and pressure (metamorphism)

Great heat and pressure deep in the crust recrystallise limestone into marble, as in the green Connemara marble of County Galway.

The rock cycle, 2 marks

Process that lays material down in layers on a sea or lake floor?

  1. Metamorphism
  2. Deposition
  3. Erosion
Show the answer

Deposition

Rivers carry worn material to the sea and drop it, and layer upon layer is then squeezed and cemented into sedimentary rock.

The rock cycle, 2 marks

Name for the stage of the rock cycle in which rock is worn away and carried off?

  1. Erosion
  2. Deposition
  3. Compaction
Show the answer

Erosion

Rivers, ice, waves and wind wear rock away and carry the pieces to new places, where they are deposited and can form new rock.

Other Geography topics

All of Leaving Cert Geography