Rock cycle basics
What do we call the process where rocks are broken down into smaller pieces by wind, water, or ice?
Weathering
Which rock type usually has layers or fossils?
Sedimentary
What is a mineral: man-made or natural?
Natural
What property describes how light reflects off a mineral?
Luster
Two minerals are the same color but have different streaks. What does this tell you?
Color alone isn’t enough to identify minerals
Which type of rock forms when melted rock cools and hardens?
Igneous
Which rock forms from heat and pressure but does NOT melt?
Metamorphic
Name one property used to identify minerals.
Color, hardness, streak, luster, crystal shape
What test tells you which mineral can scratch another?
Hardness
Why are fossils usually found in sedimentary rocks instead of igneous rocks?
Heat would destroy fossils
What process turns sediments into sedimentary rock by pressing them together and sticking them?
Compaction and cementation
Why do some igneous rocks have large crystals?
They cooled slowly underground
Why is glass NOT a mineral?
Not naturally occurring / no crystal structure
If a mineral leaves a white powder when scratched, what property are you observing?
Streak
What might happen to a rock buried deep underground for millions of years?
Heat/pressure → metamorphic rock
Can a sedimentary rock ever become an igneous rock? Explain how.
Yes, if it melts into magma and cools
Coal is NOT igneous. Give one reason why.
Does not form from magma or lava
A mineral must be a solid. True or false?
True
What is used to measure the hardness of a mineral?
Mohs scale
Explain one way a rock could go through two different rock types over time.
Student explanation using rock cycle processes