A material made up of one or more minerals.
Rock
An inorganic material that is made by nature.
Mineral
A test that determines whether the mineral can be scratched or can scratch another mineral.
Hardness
Organizes minerals from softest to hardest
Moh's Hardness Scale
Cannot be used as the only property to identify a mineral
Color
A 1-10 scale that measures a minerals hardness
Moh's Scale of Hardness
Is the softest mineral
Talc
Is the hardest mineral
Diamond
Is the color of the mineral in powder form
Streak
Describes how a mineral breaks into flat surfaces
Cleavage
Is how the mineral feels
Texture
Is used to describe a mineral as shiny, pearly, glassy or dull
Luster
A mineral that is shiny like metal
Metallic
A mineral that is dull or glassy
Nonmetallic
Is classified based on the content, text or grain size. There are 3 types: sand, clay, loam.
Soil
Does not hold water, it allows water to leave quickly
Sand
Has large grains with large spaces between each grain
Sand
Holds water easily
Clay
Has small grains that are much smaller than sand
Clay
Is a rich soil for plant growth
Loam
Is a combination of soil types, it has large and small grains
Loam
What are fossils?
The remains or impressions of organisms
Can cause changes to rocks and soil over time
Water and wind
Why are fossils important?
Fossil evidence is used to make inferences about life and environments at that time.
Construct a response on how fossilized animals get preserved if they do not turn to stone.
Fossilized animals get preserved by becoming trapped in amber, tar, peat or ice. They do not have to turn to stone in order to be preserved.