Study Guide for Rocks & Minerals Test
Chapter 2 – Minerals
~ Atomic Structure
* subatomic particles, how to determine protons, neutrons, electrons, mass number, atomic number
* distinguish between ions and isotopes
* know the difference between ionic and covalent bonding
~ Minerals
* know the 5 properties a substance must have to be considered a mineral
* be able to recognize and classify the minerals into the correct group (carbonates, silicates, halides,
sulfates, sulfides, oxides, native minerals)
* know the different tests for identification of minerals
* be able to use the mineral reference tables to answer questions
Chapter 3 – Rocks
~ Rock Cycle
* know processes that connect each type of rock to the other
~ Igneous Rocks
* be able to tell how they are formed
* be able to use the reference tables given to answer questions
~ Sedimentary Rocks
* be able to tell how they are formed
* be able to use the reference tables given to answer questions
~ Metamorphic Rocks
* be able to tell how they are formed
* be able to use the reference tables given to answer questions
Which type of rock does each phrase describe?
1. Formed from cooling and hardening of magma
2. Formed by compaction and cementation
3. May be foliated or non-foliated
4. Formed by changes in existing rock
5. Often contain fossils
6. When made of crystals, it is coarse-grained
Multiple Choice
7. Rock formed when magma cools slowly beneath the earth’s surface is called
(A) organic rock
(B) intrusive rock
(C) non-foliated rock
8. Rock formed from particles of other rocks is called
(A) crystallized rock
(B) clastic rock
(C) extrusive rock
9. When lava cools quickly, the minerals within it
(A) small crystals
(B) sedimentary rock
(C) bands or layers
10. A mixture of large and small rock particles forms
(A) an organic rock
(B) a foliated rock
(C) a conglomerate rock
Use the mineral reference tables to answer this group of questions.
11. What are garnet and pyroxene different? How are they the same?
12. How could you differentiate between dolomite and calcite?
13. What mineral has a brownish-red streak and an earthy appearance?
14. What mineral will scratch a fingernail and a steel nail and leaves a brownish-yellow streak?
Use THE ROCK CYCLE diagram to answer this group of questions.
15. Before a metamorphic rock can become sediments what processes must take place first?
16. What processes must take place to covert sedimentary rock to metamorphic rock?
17. Igneous rock that is melted is converted to:
18. What processes are involved in converting sediments in to sedimentary rock?
19. What kind of rock can be converted in to igneous rock?
20. Before a sedimentary rock can be converted in to an igneous rock it must first be changed into:
Use the CLASSIFICATION OF IGNEOUS ROCKS chart to answer the next group of questions.
21. What mineral is most abundant in diorite?
22. What rock is light in color and has a coarse texture?
23. Which rock has a higher density, granite or gabbro?
24. Which rock is more likely to contain a large amount of quartz, pegmatite or scoria?
25. What rock is light in color and has no crystals?
26. List 3 characteristics of felsic rocks:
27. Are vesicular rocks intrusive or extrusive?
28. What is another word for intrusive?
29. Which rock is darker in color, rhyolite or basalt?
30. List a mineral that is more likely to be found in a mafic rock than a felsic rock:
Use the CLASSIFICATION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS chart to answer the next group of questions.
31. What texture does a siltstone have?
32. What rock is made of plant remains?
33. What rock is made of mixed sediments that are angular?
34. What type of sedimentary rock is rock gypsum?
35. What grain size is found in sandstone?
36. What is the difference between fossil limestone and coquina?
Use the CLASSIFICATION OF METAMORPHIC ROCKS to answer the next group of questions.
37. What rock can form as a result of a contact metamorphism of sandstone?
38. Is metaconglomerate foliated or non-foliated?
39. Which rock has a higher grade of metamorphism, gneiss or slate?
40. Schist forms as a result of what type of metamorphism?