Topic 3 Questions - Minerals

  1. How did the rocks in your backyard form?
  2. What are rocks made of?
  3. What information can we get from rocks and minerals?
  4. Describe the difference between rocks and minerals.
  5. How is it that some rocks are not made of minerals?
  6. Is ice in a glacier a mineral? Is the mercury in a thermometer a mineral? Explain.
  7. Define the term lusteras it applies to minerals.
  8. Why is the word shiny never used to describe the luster of a mineral?
  9. Describe how you could find the hardness of an unknown mineral.
  10. Define streak as it applies to minerals.
  11. Discuss the usefulness of color and crystal shape in mineral identification.
  12. Explain the difference between cleavage and fractureas they apply to minerals.
  13. What are some other properties that can be used for mineral identification.
  14. Use the mineral identification charts on your Earth Science Reference Tables to answer

the following questions:

  1. Why is color a useful property for identifying olivine, but not quartz?
  2. The hardness of a streak plate is about 7. Why would the streak of corundum be difficult to determine?

Topic 3 Questions – Igneous Rocks

  1. How can you tell by looking at some rocks that they are made out of different minerals?
  2. Describe the difference between intrusive and extrusive rock – both in formation and

characteristics of the rock itself.

  1. Define rock texture and list some factors that control the texture of an igneous rock.
  2. Name the igneous rock that has large crystals and is 50% pink feldspar, 20% white

quartz, 20% white plagioclase feldspar, 5% biotite mica and 5% black amphibole.

  1. Name the igneous rock that has no crystals and is black.
  2. Name the igneous rock that is vesicular, but you can’t see the individual crystals, and

is light colored, put not pink.

  1. Name the igneous rock that is coarse grained and is almost all olivine.
  2. Name an extrusive igneous rock that is dark in color and has holes in it.
  3. What is the difference between magma and lava?
  4. How does a rock with a glassy texture form?
  5. Compare granite and gabbro.
  6. Compare granite and rhyolite.
  7. Compare gabbro and basalt.
  8. Compare rhyolite and basalt.

Topic 3 Questions – Sedimentary Rocks

  1. Describe the major processes by which sedimentary rocks are formed.
  2. Describe the difference between conglomerate and breccia. What does the difference

tell you about how each was formed?

  1. Compare the total amount of sedimentary rock on Earth’s surface to the total amount

of sedimentary rock in Earth’s crust.

  1. A rock is permeable if water can pass through it. Explain why sandstone is permeable.
  2. Why would shale be impermeable?
  3. Why do fossils only occur in sedimentary rock?
  4. Why are fossils more likely to be formed in shale and sandstone than in conglomerate?
  5. Describe the difference between clastic and nonclastic rocks.

Topic 3 Questions – Metamorphic Rocks

  1. What general changes does metamorphism cause in rocks?
  2. Describe the difference between foliated and nonfoliated metamorphic rock.
  3. Name a foliated metamorphic rock that has mica crystals visible.
  4. Name the metamorphic rock that reacts with dilute hydrochloric acid.
  5. Describe the difference between high and low grade metamorphism.
  6. Describe the difference between regional and contact metamorphism.