Rocks & Minerals Study Guide
Test: Wednesday 3/25
Know the Parts of the Earth:
o Lithosphere: solid part (made up of rocks, minerals,
and soil)
o Hydrosphere: Water (oceans, rivers, lakes)
o Atmosphere: Gas layer that surrounds Earth (Oxygen
and Carbon Dioxide are most important gases)
o Know the layers inside of Earth:
o Crust: Outer layer, thinnest, underneath the ocean
and continents; made up of loose rocks and soil
o Mantle: Middle layer
o Core: Inner layer, thickest, hottest, made up of iron
and nickel
*Minerals: Found naturally, are inorganic, have definite
chemical composition
- Know how to perform the various tests and what they
mean:
o Streak: Color of powder left on ceramic tile
o Hardness: Scratch minerals, use Moh’s scale of
hardness
o
o
o
o
o
Luster: Shiny (Metallic) vs. Dull ( Non-metallic)
Acid: If bubbles then it contains calcium carbonate
Color
Crystal shape (6 different shapes)
Cleavage (Even lines) vs. Fracture (uneven lines)
*Rocks: Formed from other minerals or from something that
was once alive, do not have definite chemical composition
Sedimentary Rocks: Formed from rock fragments and
sediments being pressed or cemented together
o 3 types
o Clastic: Formed by rock and/or sediments that are
pressed & cemented together
 Ex. Conglomerate, Shale, Sandstone
o Crystalline: Left behind when water evaporates or
minerals that dissolved in water
 Ex. Gypsum, Rock Salt
o Bioclastic: Formed from remains of plants or
animals
 Ex. Coal, Limestone
Igneous Rocks: Formed when melted minerals cool and harden
o Magma: Melted minerals inside the Earth
o Lava: Magma that has made its way to Earth’s surface
o Slow cooling forms rocks with large crystals
o Ex. Granite
o Rapid cooling forms rocks with small crystals
o Ex. Basalt
o Extra-fast cooling forms rocks with no crystals
o Ex. Pumice, Obsidian
Metamorphic Rocks: Formed from heat and pressure
 The new rocks become harder and more dense
o Examples:
o Limestone becomes marble
o Shale becomes slate
o Granite & Shale become gneiss
o Sandstone becomes quartzite
Rock Cycle