Rocks and Minerals

Question 1

The way light bounces off a mineral’s surface is described by the mineral’s ______.

Answer 1

LUSTER

Question 2

The color of a mineral in powdered form is the mineral’s ______.

Answer 2

STREAK

Question 3

Each element is made up of only one kind of ______.

Answer 3

ATOM

Question 4

How could you determine whether an unknown substance is a mineral?

Answer 4

A mineral has a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure is usually an inorganic solid and is naturally occurring.

Question 5

If a substance is a mineral, how could you identify what type of mineral it is?

Answer 5

The properties that can be used to identify what type of mineral a substance include streak, color, luster, cleavage/fracture, and its density & hardness.

Question 6

The diagram above shows the crystal structure of graphite, a mineral made up of carbon atoms that are bonded together in a regular pattern. Do you think graphite would most likely display cleavage or fracture? Explain your answer (pg 349):

Answer 6

Graphite would be more likely to display cleavage rather than fracture. The reasoning for this is that there are weak carbon bonds between the strong bonds, which causes the mineral to split along the weak planes, which causes thin sheets to form.

Question 7

How do you think the hardness and density of a mineral that formed through metamorphism would compare to a mineral that formed through evaporation? Explain.

Answer 7

The hardness and density of a mineral that formed through metamorphism would be greater than a mineral that was formed through evaporation because the mineral that formed through evaporation would ideally be more lightweight and airy.

Question 8

Sedimentary rocks that are made up of large pebbles and stones have a coarse-grained __________.

Answer 8

TEXTURE

Question 9

Most granite has a ____________of quartz, mica, and feldspar.

Answer 9

COMPOSITION

Question 10

_________ can be considered to be mixtures of minerals.

Answer 10

ROCK

Question 11

How does the cooling rate of the magma or lava affect the texture of the igneous rock that forms?

Answer 11

Slow-cooling igneous rocks are also known as intrusive rocks, meaning they cool slowly in the Earth, from magma. Fast-cooling igneous rocks are also known as extrusive rocks, meaning they cool fast on the Earth, from lava.

Question 12

How does clastic sedimentary rock form?

Answer 12

Clastic sedimentary rock forms when sediments are buried, compacted and cemented together by calcite or quartz.

Question 13

What is the difference between foliated and nonfoliated metamorphic rock?

Answer 13

Foliated metamorphic rock’s mineral grains are arranged in planes or bands, while nonfoliated metamorphic rocks do not have mineral grains that align in planes or bands.

Question 14

What type of rock is shown here? How do you know (pg 361)?

Answer 14

This is an organic sedimentary rock, and I know this because it is made up of shells (remains) and broken pieces of rock.

Question 15

How did this rock form? (pg 361)

Answer 15

This rock was formed from the remains or fossils,of once-living plants and animals.

Question 16

Suppose this rock was exposed to high temperatures and pressure. What would most likely happen to it? (pg 361)

Answer 16

The rock would most likely become an nonfoliated rock, with enough heat and pressure.

Question 17

What information can a foliated metamorphic rock provide you about the conditions under which it formed?

Answer 17

Rocks that have their minerals in flat, sheetlike layers have been exposed to an increase in heat and pressure. Futhermore, you can get a course-grained foliated rock.

Question 18

This series of processes in which a rock changes from one type to another

Answer 18

ROCK CYCLE

Question 19

The process by which water, wind, ice, and changes in temperature break down rock

Answer 19

WEATHERING

Question 20

An area where a set of deep cracks form

Answer 20

RIFT ZONE

Question 21

This rock is made up of the mineral calcite,and it formed from the remains of organisms that lived in water.

Answer 21

SEDIMENTARY

Question 22

Through high temperature and pressure, this rock formed from a sedimentary rock.

Answer 22

METAMORPHIC

Question 23

This rock is made of tiny crystals that formed quickly when molten rock cooled at Earth’s surface.

Answer 23

IGNEOUS

Question 24

How can sedimentary rock become metamorphic rock?

Answer 24

Changing temperature and pressure

Question 25

How can subsidence lead to the formation of sedimentary rock?

Answer 25

Subsidence can move the ocean crust, which can deposit sediments and the formation of sedimentary rocks.

Question 26

Why are rift zones common places for igneous rock to form?

Answer 26

The tectonic plates split so magma can escape and cool above the earth.

Question 27

What would happen to the rock cycle if erosion did not occur?

Answer 27

Sedimentary rocks wouldn’t be able to form which means that a type of metamorphic rock cannot form.

Question 28

A classmate states that igneous rock must always become sedimentary rock next, according to the rock cycle. Explain why this statement is not correct.

Answer 28

This statement is incorrect because an igneous rock can also become a metamorphic rock by change of temperature and pressure.

Question 29

Granite is an igneous rock that forms from magma cooled below Earth’s surface. Why would granite have larger crystals than igneous rocks formed from lava cooled above Earth’s surface?

Answer 29

The faster the cooling rate is (above/out), the smaller the crystals are. The slower the cooling rate is (below/in), the bigger the crystals are gonna be.