First Semester Final Exam Study Guide
Question
Answer
List the three main types of
rocks and draw a picture of each.
Label the significant features.
(Layers, crystals, holes, grains,
etc.)
Explain how sedimentary rock is
created by erosion and
weathering.
Igneous – magma cools – crystals, holes
Metamorphic – heat & pressure – wavy
layers, foliation
Sedimentary – straight layers, rough, dull,
fossils
Rocks break (weathering), sediment
moves (erosion), settles in layers
(deposition), compacts & cements into
sedimentary rock
(Intrusive)Igneous – dark, shiny spots
You are given a light colored
rock with dark spots in it that are are crystals formed by slow cooling
underground
shiny. Infer about the rock type
and explain the evidence.
How does each rock type form?
Draw a picture that helps you to
remember.
Igneous – fire formed (magma cools)
Metamorphic – heat & pressure
Sedimentary – compacting &
cementing of layers
What does a scratch test show
geologists about a certain type
of mineral or rock?
Hardness of a mineral based on Mohs
scale
Draw and label the structure of a
basic volcano and describe how
it erupts.
Pressure builds from gasses and
magma in the magma chamber until it
is too much
Illustration/Example
Igneous
Metamorphic
Sedimentary
Holes
Foliated layers
compressed
together
Erosion
Weathering
Example - Granite
Igneous
Metamorphic
Sedimentary
Scratch test materials – fingernail, glass, steel
nail, streak plate, diamond
crater, vent, magma
chamber, pipe, ash, lava
Question
Answer
Illustration/Example
What is Mohs’ Scale used to
determine?
Hardness of a mineral.
1= softest - 10=hardest
What rock
type is
pictured? How
do you know?
Metamorphic – wavy layers
Example – marble, gneiss
Explain the difference
between weathering and
erosion.
Weathering – breaks rocks
Erosion – moves rocks
Weathering
What is it called when
minerals are moved from one
place to another resulting in
layers?
List the properties that help
identify rock types.
Deposition
Example - beaches
Color, luster, texture, grain size,
hardness, streak, break
Rough
smooth
Density
What are the three volcano
types and what are they
made of?
Cinder – ash
Shield – rock
Composite – rock & ash
Erosion
Cinder
metallic
Cleavage
1-10
Mohs
Fracture
Break
Shield
Composite
Question
Answer
Illustration/Example
Draw and label the rock cycle
and explain how it works.
Rocks change by weathering &
erosion breaking down,
compacting & cementing
(sedimentary), heat & pressure
(metamorphic), melting &
cooling (igneous)
Igneous rocks are made from
Explain how igneous rocks
are created and then changed cooling and hardening of magma
– break apart
into sedimentary rocks.
(weathering) - moves(erosion) deposits in layers – compacts &
cements (sedimentary rock)
Igneous – formed by magma
Which type of rock cannot
which destroys fossils
have fossils? Why?
Use the geologic column below to answer
questions
1-4.
1. Which rock layer is the oldest?
1. Layer F
2. Layer B
3. Law of Superposition;
intrusion
4. Newer because it is
higher up.
Too hot – melts fossils
Law of Superposition – rock layers at the bottom are the
oldest
Intrusion – younger than the layer they cross
2. Which rock layer is the newest?
3. How do you know which layers
are younger?
4. Is layer C older or newer than
layer F? Why?
What is a fossil? How are
fossils made?
Remains of organisms preserved in
rock, ice, tar, or amber
- Organisms are covered by
sediment which replaces
Rock
Ice
Tar
Amber
Question
Answer
What are index fossils and
how can they be used to date
rock layers?
Fossils that lived for a short time
in many places
- Compare to rocks to find
age
Vibrations created by
earthquakes
Primary (p) waves, Secondary
waves (s), surface waves (most
destructive)
Explain what seismic waves
are, name the three types,
and which is the most
destructive.
What is the evidence for the
theory of continental drift?
Fossils, continents fit like a puzzle,
rock layers matching, glacier
grooves, sea-floor spreading
Name the three types of plate
boundaries, explain their
movement, and give one
result of each.
Divergent – spreading / rift valleys
Convergent – collide – volcanoes,
trenches
Transform – side to side earthquakes
What causes an earthquake?
Vibrations caused by movement
of the lithospheric plates
What are mid-ocean ridges
and what type of boundary
occurs there?
Ridges – places where sea-floor
spreading is occurring
Divergent boundaries
Illustration/Example
Example - Trilobites
(S) waves
Divergent
(P) waves
Surface waves
Convergent
Transform
Question
Answer
Illustration/Example
What is a hot spot? Give two examples
of places fueled by hot spots.
Mantle plume that creates volcanoes in the
middle of plates
Island chains, supervolcanoes, etc.
Examples – Hawaii, Yellowstone
On Mohs’ scale of hardness, what
are the softest and hardest
minerals?
Softest – Talc
Hardest- Diamond
Talc
What is the movement of the plates
caused by?
After you have completed an
experiment and you find that your
hypothesis is incorrect, what should be
done next?
What
is the
mass
Diamond
Convection in the mantle.
Hot magma rises- cools and sinks
moving the plates above
Change your hypothesis and test again.
272.1g
200 + 70 + 2.1 = 272.1
*always label with grams (g)
measurement for the object on the triple
beam balance above?
Why are safety rules important in
the lab?
To keep students and teachers safe
Safety First
Question
Answer
When is it okay to begin using
materials in the lab?
What is a graduated cylinder used
to measure and what label should
be used for objects that it
measures?
What is the
measurement of
the liquid?
When given permission by the teacher
What is a meniscus? How do you
measure using the meniscus?
Meniscus- the curve of the water in a
graduated cylinder
 Measure from the bottom of the curve
About how old is the earth? What
evidence do scientists have to support
this?
4.5 - 4.6 billion years old
Rocks give the age
What are the divisions of geologic
time? What happens at the end of
each era?
Eon, Era, Period, Epoch
Eras end in mass extictions
Describe intrusive and extrusive
igneous rocks and explain the
difference between them.
Intrusive – form inside the earth
Extrusive- form on the earth’s surface
GC – measures volume of liquids and
irregular objects
Label with mL for liquids; cm3 for
irregular objects
43 millileters (mL)
Illustration/Example
“You may begin.”
Liquids
Irregular
objects
Check the scale of the GC to be sure it is
by 1
Meniscus
Rocks give relative age
Eras end –
extinctions
(dinosaurs = end
of Mesozoic era)
Intrusive
Formation
Underground
Example
Granite
(crystals)
Extrusive
Formation
Above
ground
Example
Pumice
(holes)