Planet Earth - Topics 1-3

Question 1

Rock

Answer 1

A natural material made of one or more minerals

Question 2

Crust

Answer 2

The thin, outermost layer, of the Earth

Question 3

Element

Answer 3

A type of pure substance made of one type of particle or atom that cannot be broke down into simpler parts by chemical means and that has a unique set of properties.

Question 4

Mineral

Answer 4

An inorganic, naturally occurring solid material. Can either be elements, pure substances, or compounds

Question 5

Compound

Answer 5

Two or more substances combined together

Question 6

Pure Substance

Answer 6

A material that is made up of only one type of particle. Examples: gold, oxygen, water

Question 7

Mohs Hardness Scale

Answer 7

Measures the hardness of minerals on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being the softest and 10 being the hardest

Question 8

Crystals

Answer 8

Building blocks of minerals. Occur naturally, have straight edges, flat sides, regular angles

Question 9

Mineral Identification

Answer 9

Minerals are identified using four criteria: lustre, colour, streak, and cleavage/fracture

Question 10

Lustre

Answer 10

How shiny a mineral is

Question 11

Colour

Answer 11

The colour of a mineral. Not always the same. When the mineral is a different colour it will be called by a different name.

Question 12

Streak

Answer 12

Colour of the powder of a mineral. Created by dragging the mineral across a white porcelain tile

Question 13

Cleavage

Answer 13

When a mineral breaks and has smooth edges

Question 14

Fracture

Answer 14

When a mineral breaks with rough or jagged edges

Question 15

Igneous Rock

Answer 15

When hot magma or lava cools

Question 16

Magma

Answer 16

Melted rock found below Earth’s crust

Question 17

Lava

Answer 17

When magma breaks through Earth’s surface

Question 18

Intrusive Igneous rock

Answer 18

Magma cools beneath the Earth’s surface

Question 19

Extrusive Igneous rock

Answer 19

Lava cools on Earth’s surface

Question 20

Sedimentary Rock

Answer 20

Made from sediment that is closely packed in layers and cemented together

Question 21

Sediment

Answer 21

Loose material such as bits of rock, minerals, plant and animal remains

Question 22

Stratification

Answer 22

The arrangement of rock in visible layers

Question 23

Compaction

Answer 23

Layers of sediment squeezed together by the weight of other sediment and water

Question 24

Cementation

Answer 24

particles are held together by another material

Question 25

Metamorphic Rock

Answer 25

Formed beneath Earth’s surface when extremely high pressure and heat cause the original rock to change form

Question 26

Parent rock

Answer 26

the original rock that forms a metamorphic rock

Question 27

Erosion

Answer 27

the process of moving soil and rock from one place to another

Question 28

Weathering

Answer 28

The process in which rocks are broken down and sediments form. There are three types

Question 29

Mechanical Weathering

Answer 29

Physical breakdown of rocks through gravity, water, wind, temperature changes

Question 30

Frost wedging

Answer 30

A type of mechanical weathering: water goes through a cycle of freezing and thawing, it expands and contracts eventually breaking the rock apart.

Question 31

Sedimentation

Answer 31

The process in which eroded material is deposited and built up

Question 32

Chemical Weathering

Answer 32

The break up of rocks through the effects of chemical reactions upon them. Example: acid rain

Question 33

Biological Weathering

Answer 33

Breakdown of rock caused by living organisms such as plants, animals, bacteria