Name: ______________________________ Date: ___________ Period: _____
8th Grade Science

Mr. Vorstadt
Earth’s surfacE
Multiple Choice
_____ 1. A chemical property that would help to identify a mineral is
(1) reaction to acid
(2) luster
(3) hardness
(4) cleavage
_____ 2. The graph indicates the hardness of six minerals.
Which mineral is hard enough to scratch fluorite, but will not scratch garnet?
(1) talc
(2) calcite
(3) mica
(4) hornblende
_____ 3. Bedrock exposed at Earth's surface is called
(1) an outcrop (2) a rock fragment (3) a mountain
(4) a boulder
_____ 4. This means it was formed by
(1) buildup of clay particles
(2) buildup of sand grains
(3) cooling and hardening of magma
(4) great heat or pressure, or both
_____ 5. Granite has large mineral grains because it is formed by
1
(1) high pressures Schist is a metamorphic rock.
(2) rapid cooling of lava
(3) cementation of large rock fragments
(4) slow cooling of magma
_____ 6. Most fossils are found in
(1) metamorphic rocks
(2) volcanic rocks
(3) igneous rocks
(4) sedimentary rocks
_____7. Rocks that form from layers of small particles are called
(1) igneous rocks
(2) volcanic rocks
(3) sedimentary rocks
(4) metamorphic rocks
_____ 8. What process was involved in forming the mountain shown below?
(1) buildup of sediments in shallow water
(2) building of sediments in deep water
(3) cooling of magma to form igneous rock
(4) deep underground pressure
_____ 9. Casey finds a rounded rock in a streambed in New York State. He
knows the rock was part of a much larger rock structure somewhere
upstream. Where is the rock in the rock cycle?
(1) A
2
(2) B
(3) C
(4) D
After reviewing the characteristics of four similar looking mineral specimens, use the
chart below to distinguish among them and identify each.
Then answer questions 10-13.
3
Specimen1: Does not react to acid, white color, and can easily be scratched
by specimen 3
Specimen 2: Reacts to acid, white color, and can easily be scratched by
specimen 3
Specimen 3: Does not react to acid, white color, none of the other
specimens will scratch it
Specimen 4: Does not react to acid, white color, can only be scratched by
specimen 3
Mineral Identification Chart
Mineral Name
Hardness
Acid Test
Common Color
Quartz
7
No reaction
White
Calcite
3
Reaction
White
Gypsum
2
No reaction
White
Feldspar
6
No reaction
White
_____ 10. Specimen 1 is most likely
(1) gypsum
(2) quartz
(3) feldspar
(4) calcite
(1) gypsum
(2) quartz
(3) feldspar
(4) calcite
(1) gypsum
(2) quartz
(3) feldspar
(4) calcite
(1) gypsum
(2) quartz
(3) feldspar
(4) calcite
_____ 11. Specimen 2 is most likely
_____ 12. Specimen 3 is most likely
_____ 13. Specimen 4 is most likely
Thinking and Analyzing
14. Describe the steps that you would perform to identify an unknown mineral
specimen.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
15. The following table lists some properties of two common minerals, quartz
and calcite.
Common Color Hardness Cleavage/Fracture Other:
Quartz
White/clear
7
Fracture
4
Calcite White
3
Cleavage
Fizzes with HCl
Given a sample of each mineral, how might you determine which is quartz and which
is calcite? ____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
16. What type of rock is produced by volcanic activity?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
17. Rhyolite and granite have the same chemical composition and are formed
from the same liquid rock solution. Why does rhyolite have a grain size of
less than 1 mm while granite has a grain size of greater than 1 mm?
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Matching
Column I
_____ 18- made up of inorganic matter
Column II
1. Metamorphic rock
_____ 19- resistance of a mineral to being scratched 2. Luster
_____ 20- how they react with an acid
_____ 21- composed of one or more minerals
_____ 22- melted rock on surface
3. Soil
4. Hardness
5. Lava
6. Minerals
7. Magma
5
_____ 23- melted rock underground
_____ 24- usually formed underwater
_____ 25- produced when rock undergoes changes
due to heat, pressure, or both
_____ 26- how light reflects off the mineral
_____ 27- color of powered form of the mineral
_____ 28- mixture of rocks, organic matter,
air, and water
_____ 29- solid rock
_____ 30- outer layer of earth
_____ 31- exposed bedrock
_____ 32. The diagram shows layers of sediments deposited in a body of
water. Which layer was deposited first?
(1) layer A
(2) layer B
(3) layer C
(4) layer D
6
Use the cross section diagram below to answer questions 33-38.
33. Describe what event happened after layer C was deposited and before
layer B was deposited. _____________________________________
34. What type of rock is G? _________________________
35. Which rock type is the oldest? _____________________________
36. Describe what the surface was like when layer D was deposited. ___________________
__________________________________________________________________________
37. What type of rock is A? ___________________________
38. What type of rock is B? ___________________________
Use the diagram below, which represents a rock cross section to answer questions 39-41
Shale
Granite
sandstone
Limeston
e
7
_____39. The limestone most likely formed by
(1) cementation
(2) volcanic extrusion on the Earth’s surface
(3) sedimentation
(4) volcanic extrusion underground
_____ 40. The granite most likely formed by
(5) cementation
(6) volcanic extrusion on the Earth’s surface
(7) sedimentation
(8) volcanic extrusion underground
_____41. Which age relationship is correct?
(1) The limestone is older than the sandstone
(2) The shale is older than the sandstone.
(3) The granite is older than the limestone.
(4) The granite is older than the sandstone
_____ 42. The diagrams represent magnified crystals of an igneous rock. Which igneous rock
most likely was produced by magma cooled the quickest and closest to Earth's
surface?
(3)
(1)
(2)
(4)
______ 43. The diagram below shows a method for
determining a physical property of a mineral. The results
are shown for two minerals, galena and calcite. Which
property of the galena and calcite is
indicated by the
color of the powder each leaves on the ceramic tile?
(1) reaction to a solvent
(2) reaction to an acid
(4) hardness
(3) streak
8
44. The diagram below shows the rock cycle in Earth’s crust. Use this rock cycle diagram
to fill in the rock types and method of formation that have been left blank in the chart
below. [3]
9