NAME: ________________________________
DATE: ______________
CLASS: 6-2-____
Chapter 2 (sections 1-2) Handout: Minerals and Rocks
S6E5 – Students will investigate the sientific view of how the earth’s surface is formed. (b-minerals;
c) lassify rocks; d-the rock cycle)
KEY TERMS:
1. mineral: a natually occuring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definte
chemical compound - p44
2. inorganic: not formed from living things or the remains of living things - p 45
3. crystal: a solid in which the atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats and repeats – p 45
4. streak: the color of a mineral’s powder – p 47
5. luster: the way a mineral reflects light from its surface – p 47
6. Mohs hardness scale: a scale ranking 10 minerals from sofitest to hardest; used in testing
the hardness of minerals – p 48
7. cleavage: a mineral’s ability to split easily along flat surfaces – p 50
8. fracture: the way a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way – p 51
9. granite: a usually light-colored igneous rock that is found in the continental crust – p 55
10. basalt: a dark, dense, igneous rock with a fine texture tah is found in the oceanic crust – p
55
11. grains: the particles of minerals or other rocks that give a rock its texture – p 56
12. texture: the look and feel of a rock’s surface, determined by the size, shape, and pattern of
a rock’s grains – p 56
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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. What are the 5 characteristics of minerals? A mineral must be 1) naturally occuring, 2)
inorganic 3) solid, that has a 4) crystall structure, and have a 5) definite chemical
composition. p 44
2. What are the characteristics properties that can be used to ID minerals? The
characteristic properties are color, streak (color of powder), luster (reflects light), density,
and hardness. p 46-51
3. How can we test a mineral’s hardness? We use the Moh hardness scale to test a minerl’s
hardness. p 49
4. What is the softest mineral? Talc is the softest known mineral. The hardest? a diamond
5. Minerals are scratched by other minerals that are harder than themselves. p 49
6. What is the difference between cleavage and fracture? Cleavage is where a mineral
breaks apart easily along flat surfaces, where as fracture is how a mineral looks when it
breaks apart in an irregular way (jagged). p 50-51
7. What do geologists observe when studying a rock sample? They look at the rock’s
mineral composition (what it is made of), color, and texture. P 54
8. What gives a rock its texture? The particles (or grains) that a rock is made up of are what
give a rock its texture. p 56
9. What is the difference in coarse-grained and fine-grained? Coarse-grained means the
grains are large and easy to see, where fine-grained means the grains are too small to be
seen without a microscope. p 56
10. What are the three main classifications of rocks? The three main classifications of rocks
are igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks. p 57
NAME: ________________________________
DATE: ______________
CLASS: 6-2-____
Chapter 2 (sections 3-6) Handout: Minerals and Rocks
KEY TERMS:
13. igneous rock: forms from the cooling of molten rock (magma/lava) below or at the earth’s surface – p 57
14. sedimentary rock: forms when particles from other rocks are the remains of plants and animals
are pressed and cemented together - p 57
15. metamorphic rock: forms from an exsisting rock that is changed by heat, pressure, or a chemical
reaction
16. extrusive rock: igneous rock that forms from lava on Earth’s surface – p 58
17. intrusive rock: igneous rock that forms when magma hardens beneath Earth’s surface – p 59
18. sediment: small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or organisms; earth materials
deposited from erosion – p 62
19. erosion: the process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves weathered rock or soil – p 63
20. deposition: process where sediment is laid down in new locations– p 63
21. compaction: process where sediments are pressed together under its own weight – p 63
22. cementation: process where dissolved minerals crystallize and glue particles of sediment together
in one mass – p 63
23. clastic rock: sedimentry rock that forms when rock fragments are squeezed together under high pressure
24. organic rock: sedimentary rock that forms from remains of organisms deposited in thick layers – p 64
25. chemical rock: sedimentry rock that forms when minerals crystallize from a solution – p 65
26. foliated: metamorphoc rocks that have huge grains arranged in parallel layers or bands
27. rock cycle: a series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly changes rocks from
one kind to another – p 70
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
11. How are igneous rocks formed? They’re formed below/on earth’s surface from cooling
magma/lava. p 57
12. How are sedimentary rocks formed? Most are formed through a series of processes: erosion,
deposition, compactation, and cementation p 57
13. How are metamorphic rocks formed? Any type of rock, under heat and pressure or chemical
reaction, can be changed into a metamorphic rock. p 57
14. What 3 things are used to classify igneous rocks? origin, texture, and mineral composition. p 58
15. What is the difference in extrusive and intrusive igneous rock? Extrusive – formed above
ground; instrusive – formed below ground. p 58-59
16. Why do intrusive and extrusive rocks usually have different textures? They cool at different
rates, which affect the texture: intrusive rock cools slower, which forms coarse grained rock with
large crystals and extrusive rock cools faster, which forms fine-grained/glassy rock with small
crystals. p 59
17. What are the 4 processes involved in the formation of sedimentary rock? The 4 processes are
erosion, deposition, compactation, and cementation. p 62
18. What are the 3 major groups of sedimentary rock? clastic, organic, and chemical. p 64
19. **In layers of sedimentary rock, where is the oldest sediment found? The oldest sediment is
usually found in at the bottom of the layers. p 63 in diagram
20. Heat and pressure deep beneath Earth’s surface can change any rock into metamorphic rock. p 67
21. How do geologists classify metamorphic rock? They are classified according to the arrangement
of the grains that make up the rock. p 67
22. What are the 2 groups of metamorphic rock? foliated and non-foliated p 68
23. Forces deep inside Earth and at the surface produce a slow cycle that builds, destroys, and
changes the rocks in the crust. p 70
24. Does the rock cycle have a beginning or an end? Explain. The rock cycle has no beginning or
end because it is a continuous process. p 71
NAME: ________________________________
DATE: ______________
CLASS: 6-2-____