Minerals and Rocks Review Guide (Chapters 1 and 2)
1. What are the four characteristics of minerals?
2. What properties of minerals help in the identification process? List six properties
and describe all six.
3. What are some special properties of select minerals?
4. What is the scale used to test ‘hardness’? What is the hardest and softest mineral
on the scale?
5. What are the two types of luster?
6. List and describe the ways minerals can form.
7. What are the two different types of mines? List and describe.
8. What is mine reclamation? Why is it important?
9. What is a rock?
10. What are the main differences between rocks and minerals?
11. What are the processes that make and destroy rock? List and describe.
12. What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
13. What is a rock’s composition?
14. What is a rock’s texture?
15. How do igneous rocks form?
16. What is the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks?
17. What will a rock look like if it cools quickly? What will it look like if it cools slowly?
18. How does sedimentary rock form?
19. What are the three types of sedimentary rock? List and describe.
20. What is stratification?
21. How does metamorphic rock form?
22. What is the difference between contact and regional metamorphism?
23. What is the difference between foliated and nonfoliated metamorphic rock?
24. What is deformation?
25. Be able to label and explain the rock cycle.
Minerals and Rocks Review Guide (Chapters 1 and 2)
1. What are the four characteristics of minerals? Minerals are 1)naturally formed, 2)
Solid, 3) Inorganic, and 4) Have a crystal structure
2. What properties of minerals help in the identification process? List six properties
and describe all six.
1. Color – Outward appearance of the mineral
2. Streak – The color of the powder that a mineral leaves on a piece of porcelain
3. Luster – The way the surface of the mineral reflects light
4. Cleavage or Fracture – The ability of a mineral to break along smooth, flat
surfaces (cleavage) or the tendency to break along irregular surfaces (fracture)
5. Hardness – A minerals resistance to being scratched
6. Density – The amount of mass per given volume (m/v)
3. What are some special properties of select minerals? Fluorescence, chemical
reactions (fizzing), optical properties (double image), magnetism, taste, and
radioactivity
4. What is the scale used to test ‘hardness’? What is the hardest and softest mineral
on the scale? Moh’s hardness scale can be used to test the hardness of a mineral.
Diamond is the hardest mineral on the scale with a hardness of 10 and talc is the
softest mineral on the scale with a hardness of one.
5. What are the two types of luster? A mineral can have metallic or nonmetallic
luster.
6. List and describe the ways minerals can form.
- Evaporation – When a body of salt water dries up minerals such as halite
and gypsum can be left behind
- Metamorphic Rocks – changes in temperature and pressure can alter the
chemical makeup and form new minerals
- Limestone – Dissolved minerals can be deposited in bodies of water and
crystallize on the bottom
- Hot-water Solutions – Groundwater can be heated by magma and react to
form hot solutions. Dissolved metals and elements can crystallize from
the solution to form minerals
- Pegmatites - A tear-drop shaped intrusion underground where minerals
form and crystallize
- Plutons – When magma moves upwards it will stop moving before it
reaches the surface and cool slowly forming minerals
7. What are the two different types of mines? List, describe, and give an example. 1)
Surface Mining- Minerals are at or near the surface and are mined from the top of
the Earth and layered down. An example is a quarry. 2) Subsurface Mining – Used
when mineral deposits are located too deep with the Earth to be surface mined. An
example would be any mine with shafts.
8. What is mine reclamation? Why is it important? Mine reclamation is the process in
which land that was mined is returned to its original condition after mining is
completed. Reclamation is important because it can reduce the potential harmful
effects of mining.
9. What is a rock? Rocks are naturally occurring solids that are made of a mixture of
one or more minerals and organic material.
10. What are the main differences between rocks and minerals?
Rocks – Mixture of minerals and organic (once living) material
Minerals – Definite composition and inorganic material
11. What are the processes that make and destroy rock? List and describe.
Weathering – The breakdown or rock into sediment due to wind, water, etc.
Erosion – The movement of sediment from one place to another
Deposition – The settlement of sediment in a specific location typically in bodies of
water or low-lying areas
Heat/Pressure – Extreme heat and pressure causes rock to go through
metamorphism
Uplift – The movement within the Earth that causes rock inside the Earth to move
to the surface
12. What is the difference between weathering and erosion? Weathering breaks the
rock into fragments called sediment and erosion is simply the movement of that
sediment to another location.
13. What is a rock’s composition? The chemical makeup of the rock; either mineral
types or other materials.
14. What is a rock’s texture? The texture is based upon the size of the rock’s grains.
Rocks can either be fine-grained, medium-grained, or coarse-grained.
15. How do igneous rocks form? Igneous is the type of rock that forms when magma or
lava cools and solidifies.
16. What is the difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks?
Intrusive – Rock formed from the cooling and solidification of magma within the
Earth’s surface; typically coarse-grained and cool very slowly.
Extrusive – Rock that forms due to volcanic activity at or near the Earth’s surface;
typically very small crystals or no crystals at all and cools very quickly
17. What will a rock look like if it cools quickly? If a rock cools quickly it will have small
crystals or look glassy. What will it look like if it cools slowly? If a rock cool slowly
there will be larger crystals and it will be coarse-grained.
18. How does sedimentary rock form? Sedimentary rock forms at or near the Earth’s
surface without heat and pressure. Instead, sedimentary rock is formed when
compaction and cementation occur.
19. What are the three types of sedimentary rock? List and describe.
Clastic – Made from fragments of rock cemented together by a mineral
Chemical – Made from solutions of dissolved minerals and water that go through
crystallization
Organic – Made from the remains of once-living plants and animals
20. What is stratification? Stratification is the process in which sedimentary rocks are
arranged in layers or strata
21. How does metamorphic rock form? Metamorphic rock forms through metamorphism
in which the rock changes form due to heat and pressure
22. What is the difference between contact and regional metamorphism?
Contact metamorphism – Occurs near igneous inclusions by the intense heat of the
magma
Regional metamorphism – Pressure builds up in rock that is buried deep below other
rock formation. This pressure causes rock to become deformed and chemically
change
23. What is the difference between foliated and nonfoliated metamorphic rock?
Foliated metamorphic rock will contain aligned grains of flat minerals and
nonfoliated rock does not have aligned minerals
24. What is deformation? Deformation is the change in shape of a rock caused by a
force placed on the rock causing it to squeeze or stretch
25. Be able to label and explain the rock cycle.