What are igneous rocks?

Igneous rocks are like hard candy that forms when melted rock cools down and hardens.

Imagine you have a big pot of hot chocolate, it's all liquid and flowing. Now, if you take that pot outside on a cold day, the hot chocolate starts to cool and eventually becomes solid chocolate again. That’s kind of what happens with melted rock, when it cools down, it turns into igneous rocks.

When molten rock, which is like super-heated lava inside the Earth, comes out onto the surface or stays deep underground, it starts to cool. As it cools, the liquid slowly becomes solid, forming crystals, just like how candy hardens into a solid shape.

If the cooling happens quickly, like when lava flows on the ground and cools fast, the rocks have small crystals. If it cools slowly deep inside the Earth, the rocks have bigger crystals you can see with your eyes.

So next time you eat a piece of hard candy, remember, you're tasting a little bit of how igneous rocks are made!