Rocks and Minerals Study Guide
Test on:
Students will need to know these vocabulary words and examples of the
types of rocks
Mineral: Natural, nonliving solid crystals that make up rocks
Weathering: The wearing away of large rocks into smaller rocks
Erosion: Movement of the broken pieces of rock away from the site of
weathering
Sediment: Small pieces of rock and mineral which gets laid down in layers
Compaction: Water squeezed out of the layers of sediment
Cementation: The formation of new crystals which glues sediment layers
together
Magma: melted rock which is still underground
Extrusive Igneous Rock: Rock that forms from molten (melted) rock which
cools outside of a volcano (quickly)
Examples of Extrusive Igneous Rock: obsidian and basalt
Intrusive Igneous Rock: Rock that forms from molten (melted) rock which
cools underground (slowly)
Examples of Intrusive Igneous Rock: granite
Sedimentary Rock: Rock that is formed when sediments are cemented
together and harden; fossils may be found in this type of rock
Examples of Sedimentary Rock: Limestone and sandstone
Metamorphic Rock: Rock that is formed as a result of heat and pressure
Examples of Metamorphic Rock: slate and marble
 Students will need to be able to label a blank diagram of the rock
cycle with the correct terms
 Students will need to write a paragraph explaining the path of a
rock as it moves through all the stages of the rock cycle – their rock
cycle projects should help with this! (only one of the igneous rock
types needs to be included in the explanation)