Name________________________________________ Date: ____________________
Period: _________
Review for Earth’s Materials and Processes Unit Final
1. How can there be more than 4000 different minerals if there are only 108 elements?
The 108 elements combine in different ways to form different minerals.
2. What are the five characteristics of all minerals?
a. 100% natural
b. Inorganic
c. Solid
d. Definite or unique chemical composition
e. Has crystal structure
Use the information in the table to answer questions 3-5
Rock
A
B
C
D
E
Unique Features
Randomly arranged large pink, black and white crystals.
Rock is made of stripes of light and dark minerals
Rock is made of pebbles and fossils cemented together in
layers/strata.
Randomly arranged tiny pink, black and white crystals.
Shiny, black rock
Particles
or
Crystals?
crystals
crystals
particles
crystals
no crystals
Particles size /
crystal size
coarse
coarse
coarse (pebbles)
fine
none/glassy
3. Which rock, or rocks, is most likely a sedimentary rock? ____C_____
4. Which rock, or rocks, is most likely a metamorphic rock? _____B_______
5. Which rock, or rocks, is most likely an igneous rock?
6.
____A, D, E___
Which types of rocks may be later broken down to form sedimentary rocks? _A, B, C, D, E (All rocks)
7. What criterion do geologists use to classify rocks into the three major groups: igneous rock,
sedimentary rock, and metamorphic rock?
______________How the rocks formed___________________
8. Identify each of the following processes:
a. ____ cementation ______: dissolved minerals crystallize and glue particles together.
b. _____ deposition ______:
sediment settles out of the water or wind carrying it.
c. ______ compaction
_:
sediments are pressed together.
d. _____ erosion _______:
running water, wind, or ice loosen and carry away fragments.
9. Arrange the following terms, currently in ABC order, into the correct sequence for forming sedimentary
rocks: cementation, compaction deposition and erosion
erosion
deposition
compaction
cementation
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10. What process will lead to large crystal formation?
When magma below the ground cools slowly.
_______________________________________________________________________________
11. What is the main characteristic that provides evidence a rock is a sedimentary rock?
Defined layers or strata
_______________________________________________________________________________
12. You see a the side of a mountain with a rock layer of large rounded grains on the bottom level, then medium,
then very small and fine grains on a top layer.
How would you describe the environment where the deposition of the sediments originally occurred?
The environment under a body of water when the particles settled to the bottom of the water.
________________________________________________________________________
13. What is the process that breaks rocks down into fragments and sediments? ___erosion_________
14. Identify each of the following forms of weathering:
a. Breaks down rocks without changing their chemical composition:
__physical
(or mechanical)
weathering________________
Examples: ice, wind, tree roots,
b. Happens when water, air, or other substances react to the minerals in rocks, soils, and building
materials to change their chemical composition: __chemical
weathering____________
Examples: water reacts with carbon dioxide in the air and makes carbonic acid that then reacts
with calcite in limestone and makes hole (cave)
15. What can you infer causes a difference in weathering in two statues that are next to each other?
Made of different materials (minerals or rocks)
_______________________________________________________________________________
16. What can you infer if two identical pieces of rock in different locations weather differently?
Must have different climate conditions causing erosion: ice, wind, or water
_______________________________________________________________________________
17. What is the most common agent of erosion? _______water________________________
BCR 1: Rock Cycle
What is one possible pathway through the rock
cycle?
In your response, be sure to
 cite features that distinguish among the
three types of rock
 relate rock features to formation process
BCR 2: Agents of Erosion
A house sits on the edge of a cliff overlooking the
ocean. A pile of sediments can be seen deposited at
the base of the cliff. How will the cliff change over
time?
In your response be sure to
 Identify the agents of erosion that will
impact the house and its location in the
future.
 Describe how the agents of erosion work
together.
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