Earth’s Hidden Levels
Which is Earth’s thinnest layer?
What is the crust?
A shiny, pearly mineral is being examined. Which property is the observer describing?
What is luster?
Rocks are constantly breaking down into smaller pieces. What is the name of this process?
What is Weathering?
What is the most abundantly found element in Earth's crust?
What is Oxygen?
When lava cools and hardens, what type of rock is formed?
What is Igneous?
The mantle is mostly made of which type of rock materials?
What is Silicates?
On the Mohs Hardness Scale, which mineral would be easiest to scratch with your fingernail?
What is talc?
Heat and pressure deep underground can change a rock into a new type. What type of rock forms this way?
What is a Metamorphic Rock?
You discover a mineral that fizzes when you drop acid on it. What kind of mineral is this?
What is Carbonate? (something like Calcite)
Minerals that contain iron are important in everyday life. Name two ways we use iron-bearing minerals.
In construction, tools, machines, or appliances
If you were hiking on a giant, rigid plate that includes the top of the mantle, where would you be?
What is the Lithosphere?
You find a solid substance that formed naturally but contains carbon in a pattern that changes. Can it be called a mineral? Why or why not?
What is No, because minerals have a consistent chemical structure.
Lava cools on the Earth’s surface and forms a type of igneous rock. Is this rock intrusive or extrusive?
What is Extrusive?
Water carries tiny sediments downhill into a river. What is this process called?
What is Erosion?
The temperature at the center of Earth is extreme. About how hot is it?
What is approximately 6,000 degrees Celsius.
Why does the center of the Earth stay solid even though it is extremely hot?
What is due to extremely high pressure forces the metal molecules together?
Quartz breaks into uneven, rough pieces when struck. Is this cleavage or fracture?
What is fracture?
A dark colored rock is shiny, glass-like, and cooled so quickly that no crystals formed. What is this igneous rock called?
What is Obsidian?
Sediments settle in a lake and form layers over time. What is this step of the rock cycle called?
What is Deposition?
You find a shiny, silver rock. Without testing it, you aren’t sure if it is a mineral. Name three properties you could check to help identify it.
What is Luster, hardness, streak, cleavage, fracture, or color?
If someone asked you to match Earth’s layers with what they are made of or their state, which layer would you say is liquid metal?
What is the outer core?
A mineral fractures into curved surfaces instead of flat planes. Which term best describes this?
What is a Conchoidal fracture?
Sediments settle in a riverbed and become a rock. Which two processes must happen to make it a sedimentary rock?
What is Compaction and Cementation?
Why is the rock cycle considered a “cycle” rather than a straight path?
What is Because rocks can change from one type to another and eventually return to the same type over time, repeating the process indefinitely?
Imagine you are a geologist and need to explain to a class why Earth’s inner core is solid even though it is hotter than the outer core. What would you say?
What is the inner core is under extremely high pressure, which forces metal atoms together, keeping it solid despite the high temperature?