Name ______________________________ Class __________________ Date __________________
Skills Worksheet
Directed Reading 6.3
Section: Sedimentary Rock
1. Define sediment.
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2. What three factors determine the characteristics of sedimentary rock?
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FORMATION OF SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
3. How are newly formed sediments transported to new locations?
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4. What determines the composition of sediment?
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5. What happens to sediment as it is moved from one place to another?
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6. What are the two main processes that convert loose sediment to sedimentary
rock?
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Name ______________________________ Class __________________ Date __________________
Directed Reading continued
7. The process in which the volume and porosity of a sediment is reduced by the
weight and pressure of overlying sediments is called ______________________.
8. The process in which minerals precipitate into pore spaces between sediment grains
and bind sediments together to form rock is called ______________________.
CHEMICAL SEDIMENTARY ROCK
_____ 9. Sedimentary rock that forms when minerals precipitate from a solution or
settle from a suspension is called
a. organic sedimentary rock.
b. chemical sedimentary rock.
c. clastic sedimentary rock.
d. elastic sedimentary rock.
_____ 10. One reason that minerals precipitate is because of
a. evaporation.
b. compaction.
c. cementation.
d. condensation.
_____ 11. When water evaporates, it leaves behind minerals called
a. metamorphites.
b. magma.
c. crystals.
d. evaporites.
_____ 12. Two examples of evaporites are
a. coal and granite.
b. gypsum and halite.
c. chalk and limestone.
d. sandstone and shale.
_____ 13. The Bonneville Salt Flats near the Great Salt Lake in Utah are a good
example of
a. evaporite deposits.
b. coal deposits.
c. limestone deposits.
d. shale deposits.
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Name ______________________________ Class __________________ Date __________________
Directed Reading continued
ORGANIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
Use the terms from the following list to complete the sentences below. Each term
may be used only once. Some terms will not be used.
chalk
coral
calcite
coal
organic sedimentary rock
carbon
limestone
14. Sedimentary rock that forms from the remains of plants or animals is called
______________________.
15. Some limestones and ______________________ are examples of organic
sedimentary rocks.
16. Coal forms from plant remains that are buried before they decay and are then
compacted into matter that is composed mainly of ______________________.
17. Organic limestone forms when marine organisms such as coral, clams, oysters,
and plankton remove chemical components of the minerals
______________________ and aragonite from sea water.
18. When marine organisms die, their shells eventually become
______________________.
19. An example of limestone made up of the shells of tiny, one-celled marine
organisms that settle to the ocean floor is ______________________.
CLASTIC SEDIMENTARY ROCK
In the space provided, write the letter of the description that best matches the term
or phrase.
_____ 20. clastic
sedimentary
rock
_____ 21. conglomerate
_____ 22. breccia
_____ 23. sandstone
_____ 24. shale
_____ 25. quartz
a. mineral that is a major component of most
sandstones
b. rock composed of angular fragments with sharp
corners that range in size from fine mud to boulders
c. sedimentary rock that forms when fragments of
preexisting rocks are compacted or cemented
together
d. rock made up of sand-sized grains cemented
together
e. rock that consists of clay-sized particles that are
cemented and compacted
f. rock composed of rounded fragments sized from
fine mud to boulders
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Name ______________________________ Class __________________ Date __________________
Directed Reading continued
CHARACTERISTICS OF CLASTIC SEDIMENTS
26. What two factors determine the physical characteristics of sediments?
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27. Name the four agents that transport sediments.
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28. How does the speed with which the agent of erosion moves the sediment
affect that sediment?
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29. Define sorting.
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30. How do poorly sorted and well-sorted sediments differ?
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31. What causes sediment to change in size and shape as it is transported from its
source to where it is deposited?
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32. In general, how do sediment particles that travel long distances differ from
those that have traveled short distances?
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Name ______________________________ Class __________________ Date __________________
Directed Reading continued
SEDIMENTARY ROCK FEATURES
In the space provided, write the letter of the description that best matches the term
or phrase.
_____ 33. depositional
environment
_____ 34. stratification
_____ 35. bed
_____ 36. massive bed
_____ 37. cross-bed
_____ 38. graded bedding
_____ 39. reverse grading
a. a stratified layer
b. a bed characterized by slanting layers
c. a type of stratification in which various sizes
and kinds of materials are deposited in one
layer
d. a bed with no internal structure
e. a type of stratification in which the smallest
grains are on the bottom and larger grains are
on top
f. the layering of sedimentary rock, which occurs
when the conditions of deposition change
g. the setting in which sediment is deposited
40. A sedimentary rock feature caused by the action of wind or water on sand is
called a(n) ______________________.
41. A sedimentary rock feature that forms when a muddy deposit dries and shrinks
is called a(n) ______________________
42. How are fossils formed?
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43. How are concretions formed?
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44. How are geodes formed?
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ANSWER.KEY
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