Name___________________________
Earth Science Unit Four Test
For each statement or question, select the word or expression that best completes the statement or answers the
question. (4 points each)
____1. Which of the following does not describe a characteristic of a mineral?
a. It is a mixture.
b. It occurs naturally.
c. It is solid.
d. It has a definite composition.
____2. An example of a native mineral is
a. halite
b. ice
c. oxygen
d. copper
____3. Which of the following is not a physical characteristic determined by the arrangement of the atoms within a
mineral?
a. streak
b. hardness
c. crystal shape
d. cleavage
____4. The mineral calcite is a combination of calcium, carbon, and oxygen. Calcite is an example of a(n)
a. an element
b. a compound
c. an ion
d. a mixture
____5. Most minerals, as well as most substances, are
a. isotopes
b. elements
c. compounds
d. mixtures
____6. Which of the following statements is false?
a. Atoms, molecules, and ions in magma are free to move around each other.
b. As magma cools, its atoms, molecules, and ions tend to move away from each other.
c. Many different minerals can form out of one magma mass.
d. The rate at which magma cools affects the size of the mineral grains that form.
____7. Which of the following mineral properties includes the descriptions, conchoidal, splintery and irregular?
a. cleavage
b. streak
c. fracture
d. luster
____8. Silicates always contain
a. aluminum
b. oxygen
c. quartz
d. iron
____9. Which of the following characteristics is least useful in identifying a mineral?
a. cleavage
b. specific gravity
c. color
d. streak
____10. Gold and diamond are not generally classified as rock-forming minerals because
a. neither is a silicate
b. neither is common
c. neither occurs in granite
d. neither bubbles when exposed to acid
____11. Which of the following tests is best used to distinguish a nonmetallic mineral from a metallic mineral?
a. fracture, because not all minerals exhibit cleavage
b. acid test, because all metallic minerals react positively
c. streak test, because nonmetallic minerals typically streak colorless or white and metallic minerals typically
streak a dark, characteristic color
d. specific density, because nonmetallic minerals typically have specific gravities of greater than 5 and metallic
minerals typically measure about 5
____12. The cooling and hardening of magma deep underground results in
a. a pluton
b. a volcano
c. sediments
d. deformation
____13. An example of an igneous rock is
a. gabbro
b. shale
c. geode
d. marble
____14. Which of the following is likely to have formed farthest from the shoreline?
a. pebble conglomerate
b. quartz sandstone
c. silty shale
d. coarse-grained granite
____15. Which pair of minerals is most likely to be found in felsic rock?
a. olivine and pyroxene
b. orthoclase feldspar and quartz
c. hornblende and augite
d. biotite and calcite
____16. All intrusive igneous rocks contain
a. fossils
b. granite crystals
c. minerals
d. microscopic cleavage
____17. Which of the following is not a feature of sedimentary rocks?
a. ripple marks
b. porphyritic texture
c. stratification
d. concretions
____18. Which set of characteristics best describes mafic magma?
a. high silica content, thin and fluid, forms dark-colored rock
b. high silica content, thick and slow-flowing, forms light-colored rock
c. low silica content, thin and fluid, forms dark-colored rock
d. low silica content, thick and slow-flowing, forms light-colored rock
____19. How are Granite and obsidian similar
a. They are similar in color.
b. They are similar in texture.
c. They are similar in composition.
d. They have similar fracture.
____20. An igneous rock characterized by two distinctly different textures is
a. porphyry
b. felsic
c. mafic
d. pumice
____21. Which of the following is not a member of the granite family?
a. halite
b. rhyolite
c. obsidian
d. pumice
____22. The mafic rock that is full of holes and made of dense minerals is
a. scoria
b. obsidian
c. diabase
d. pumice
____23. In which of the following rocks are ripple marks most likely to be observed?
a. shale
b. sandstone
c. gneiss
d. basalt
____24. In the rock cycle, rocks are classified by
a. origin
b. color
c. grain size
d. mineral composition
____25. Which type of metamorphism is most likely to change shale to hornfels?
a. deformational
b. contact
c. regional
d. cementation
____26. Which of the following pairs includes a metamorphic rock and its parent rock?
a. slate and obsidian
b. granite and limestone
c. gneiss and quartz
d. marbile and limestone
____27. A batholith is a type of
a. pluton
b. sedimentary rock
c. metamorphic rock
d. clastic rock
____28. The formation of clastic rock begins when
a. volcanic activity begins
b. cementation is complete
c. water moves and relocates rock fragments
d. water dissolves the minerals in rock
____29. Rocks may form chemically when
a. plants and animals form calcium carbonate shells or structures
b. minerals fall out of solution
c. volcanoes erupt
d. new rock layers split forming new rocks
____30. Which rock most likely formed underground from slow-cooling magma?
a. porphyry
b. basalt
c. rhyolite
d. gabbro
____31. Sedimentary rocks that formed organically typically contain
a. calcite
b. large, intact shells
c. large amounts of clay
d. halite
Answer each question in the space provided. Use complete sentences in your answer. (8 points each)
32. Many minerals have commercial uses. Name two minerals, the mineral group in which they belong, and their
uses.
33. Use the terms ,volcanic, plutonic, coarse-grained, fine-grained, felsic, and mafic, to describe the way in which a
granite found in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state is likely to be different from basalt found on the
Hawaiian islands.
34. Use the terms, fluids and gases, parent rock, pressure, foliation and heat to describe the process of regional
metamorphism.