Name ______________________________
Rocks and Minerals Pre-Assessment
1. Minerals are called the “building blocks” of _____.
a. rocks
b. magma
c. crystals
d. fossils
2. ____ may contain fossils, the remains of trees or other plants, animals or compacted
shells.
a. rocks
b. magma
c. crystals
d. fossils
3. The three categories that scientists used to classify rocks are igneous, sedimentary and
_____.
a. precipitation
b. metamorphic
c. quartz
d. minerals
4. The processes by which rocks change and form new rocks is called the _____.
a. rock cycle
c. water cycle
b. magma cycle
5. TRUE or FALSE
d. mineral cycle
Igneous rocks form layered particles of weathered rocks and
minerals.
6. Solid rock that has been changed as a result of heat and pressure is ___.
a. igenous
b. metamorphic
7. TRUE or FALSE
c. sedimentary
d. minerals
The Blue Ridge Mountains are made out of Sedimentary rocks.
8. _____ is the most common mineral on earth.
a. Galena
c. Gold
b. Quartz
d. Limestone
9. Minerals have several different types of observable _____.
a. color
b. crystal structure
c. density
d. specific gravity
10. A mineral’s ____ depends on the way light reflects off its surface.
a. fracture
b. streak
c. luster
d. cleavage
11. A mineral’s use is often related to it’s ____.
a. cleavage
c. fracture
b. density
12. TRUE
or
FALSE
d. hardness
Scientists use the Moh’s Scale to determine how hard a mineral is.
13. The size and shape of a mineral depend on a minerals ______ composition.
a. metallic
b. breakage
c. chemical
d. luster
14. TRUE or FALSE You can mine for Gold and Diamonds in the Coastal Plain of Virginia.
15. Feldspar and Quartz are members of the _____ group.
a. Silicate
c. Carbonate
b. Sulfide
d. Sulfate
Name a use for the following rocks/minerals:
Graphite: ___________________________
Hematite: ___________________________
Limestone: ___________________________
Granite: _____________________________