Classifying Rocks

Question 1

Rock-forming minerals

Answer 1

20 minerals that make up most of the rocks of the Earth’s crust

Question 2

Color

Answer 2

Provides clues to the rock’s mineral composition

Question 3

Granite

Answer 3

Light colored rocks having high silica content

Question 4

Basalt

Answer 4

Dark colored rock that is low in silica

Question 5

Texture

Answer 5

The look and feel of the rock’s surface which is made up of particles of minerals or other fine rocks called grains

Question 6

Grains

Answer 6

~ grain size
~ grain shape
~ grain pattern

Question 7

What are the 3 major groups scientists classify rocks into?

Answer 7

Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic

Question 8

Igneous

Answer 8

Created when magma or lava cools and crystallizes

Question 9

Sedimentary

Answer 9

Rock material that forms where rocks are broken down into smaller pieces or dissolved in water as rocks erode or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together

Question 10

Metamorphic

Answer 10

Forms when existing rock is changed be heat, pressure, or chemical reactions

Question 11

Rock cycle

Answer 11

Series of processes that change one type of rock into another type of rock