Rocks and Minerals Test
Name ______________________________________Period___________
Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer.
1. The “basic building blocks” of rocks are ___________________.
a. elements
c. minerals
b. compounds
d. crystal
2. When minerals form a definite shape and their surfaces have faces, we
say the mineral has formed a(n) _____________________.
a. elements
c. minerals
b. compounds
d. crystal
3. Rocks made from hot melted rock that cools and hardens are called
_____________________ rocks.
a. sedimentary
c. igneous
b. compound
d. metamorphic
4. The process where rocks change from one type of a rock to another type
of rock over and over again is called the __________________________.
a. rock cycle
c. endless cycle
b. carbon cycle
d. nitrogen cycle
5. A dinosaur footprint found in a rock is called a ___________________.
a. mineral
c. compound
b. fossil
d. sediment
6. Melted rock found beneath the Earth’s surface is called ____________.
a. magma
c. lava
b. heated rock
d. fragment rock
Rocks and Minerals
Test Page 2
7. Rocks that have been changed by intense heat and/or pressure are
called _______________________rocks.
a. sedimentary
c. igneous
b. compound
d. metamorphic
8. Small pieces of rock, mud, sand, clay and silt that are carried by water
from one place to another are called ________________________.
a. fossils
c. germs
b. alloys
d. sediments
9. Rocks that form when layers of sand, silt, clay and mud are pressed and
cemented together are called ___________________rocks.
a. sedimentary
c. igneous
b. compound
d. metamorphic
10. The process where rocks are broken down by rain, wind, heat and
cold is called ____________________.
a. compaction
c. erosion
b. deposition
d. transport
11. If a melted rock were to cool very quickly, where would it most likely
have been located when it cooled?
a. deep beneath the Earth’s surface
c. on top of the Earth’s surface
b. any place, anywhere
d. inside the Earth
12. What is the difference between a mineral and a rock?
___________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
Rocks and Minerals
Test Page 3
13. Name five things in your school building that come from minerals.
1. __________________________
2.__________________________
3.___________________________
4. _________________________
5. ___________________________
Rock Observation:
Write down the letter of the alphabet assigned to your rock. ___________
Describe 3 different characteristics (properties) of this rock that could be
used to help identify what type of rock it is. (HINT: texture, luster, grain
size, bands of color, crystal shape. What else?)
1. __________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________
What type of rock do you believe you have? Circle one.
a. sedimentary rock
c. metamorphic rock
b. igneous rock
d. a mineral, not a rock
MINERAL IDENTIFICATION
In the space below, record information about the mineral you have been
given.
1. Color ______________________________________
2. Luster ______________________________________
3. Texture _____________________________________
4. Streak Color _________________________________
5. Hardness ____________________________________
Rocks and Minerals
Test Page 4
Look at the chart below. What mineral do you believe you have? Circle
one.
A
B
C
D
E
F
Mineral Identification Chart
MINERAL
A
B
C
D
E
F
COLOR
Graysilver
LUSTER
Shiny
STREAK
Grayblack
HARDNESS
2.5
Bluegreen
Violet
Clear, white,
pink, purple
White, Green
Yellow,
Cream
Grayblack
Clear, White,
Yellow
Glassy
White
4
Glassy
White
7
Greasy,
Dull
White
1
Dull
Silky
Gray
White
1
2
The Rock Cycle
As you know there are three types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary.
Write the correct word in the blank next to the rock type. Also, place the terms sediments
and molten rock in the correct places. There are several different processes in the rock
cycle which cause rocks to change form. Write the terms melting, heat and pressure,
compaction and cementation, solidifying, weathering and erosion in the correct
blanks. Fill in these terms as you proceed in a clockwise direction on the diagram.
Rock Cycle