cycle or rock cycle is a geological concept that describes the transitions of material in geological time that allow all rock to transform into one of three types: sedimentary rocks, metamorphic rocks and igneous rocks. [1] Rocks can go through any of the three states when they are forced out of balance. An igneous rock such as basalt can disintegrate and change when exposed to the atmosphere, or re-melt when subducting underneath a continent. Due to the generating forces of the rock cycle, the tectonic plates and the water cycle, the rocks cannot keep in balance and are forced to change in the face of new environments.