Rocks and Minerals
Power point study guide
What is a mineral?
A natural solid that has its particles
arranged in a crystal pattern. Example:
 quartz

What is the luster of a mineral?

A minerals surface when light is reflect off
it.
What is the rock cycle?

It is the Earth’s pattern of slow changes in
rocks from one kind to another.
What is a sedimentary rock?

This rock forms when pieces of various
rocks are deposited over time and are
squeezed and stuck together with clay.
What is a streak test?

When you rub a mineral against a white tile, the
minerals leaves a colored powder behind.
What is a rock?

A rock is material made up of one or more
minerals.
Granite is made up of
mica, quartz, and feldspar
What is a metamorphic rock?

A rock that has been changed by high heat
and great pressure.
Limestone is a
sedimentary rock
that changes into…..
Marble when
exposed to heat and
pressure.
What is an igneous rock?

A rock that forms from hot magma or lava.
obsidian
granite
pumice
What is the hardness test of a
mineral?

The mineral’s ability to resist being scratched.
Which mineral is the hardest,
gypsum, talc, topaz, calcite?
Topaz
Which of the following minerals can
fluorite scratch?
Talc, gypsum, calcite
Which of the following minerals can
scratch corundum?
diamond
If a penny has a hardness of 3 and
glass has a hardness of 6, what
minerals could be scratched by
glass but not by a penny?
Fluorite, apatite
What type of rock has pieces of
seashells in it?
Sedimentary, Limestone
What mineral is table salt?
Halite
Why is pumice lighter than
obsidian?
Pumice is formed from lava with gases in it. When the lava cools, the gas
bubbles pop leaving many holes. Obsidian is formed from lava that erupts
violently and cool quickly.
How is a rock different than a
mineral?
A mineral is one pure substance and a rock is made up of many
minerals. Minerals have crystal shapes.
Why wouldn’t you find a fossil in
metamorphic rock or igneous rock?
Igneous rocks form from magma or lava which would not have living things
in them; Metamorphic rock form from heat and pressure where no living
things would live. Only sedimentary rock form on ocean or lake bottoms
where living things may have died and settled.