1 Removing heat energy, or cooling, decreases the motion of molecules. 2  If heat is added to a solid, the molecules can move fast enough to change from a solid to a liquid. ( 3 Melting). 4  If heat is added to a liquid, the molecules can move fast enough to change from a liquid to a gas.
Fossils usually only form in sedimentary rock. Sediments have to accumulate over the organism in order to preserve it. This could be a rapid burial, such as a volcanic eruption or mudslide, it could be sap from a tree oozing over an insect, or simply a slow sediment accumulation on the bottom of a lake.
Metamorphic rocks can form from either sedimentary or igneous rocks. The sedimentary particles from which a sedimentary rock is formed can be derived from a metamorphic, an igneous, or another sedimentary rock. All three rock types can be melted to form a magma. Thus, the cycle has continued over the ages, constantly forming new rocks, breaking those down in various ways, and forming still younger rocks. Rocks at the surface of the earth range in age from over three billion years old to a few hundred years old.