Final answer:
Metamorphism can change the mineralogy, texture, and chemical composition of a rock and sometimes its location. This results in the formation of new rocks with altered appearances.
Step-by-step explanation:
Metamorphism is the process by which a pre-existing rock (the protolith) is altered by a change in temperature, pressure, or by contact with chemically reactive fluids, or by any combination of these three parameters. This alteration process is called recrystallization, where the initial rock's minerals (crystals) change in size, shape, and/or composition in response to the new external conditions.
Metamorphism can change the mineralogy, texture, and chemical composition of a rock. It can also change the location of a rock if it undergoes tectonic movements or is exposed at the Earth's surface through erosion.
The changes in a rock during metamorphism result in the formation of new rocks with altered appearances, such as slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss, or marble.