Rocks and Minerals - Unit 9

Minerals are classified according to their physical properties. Which group of words describes all minerals?

• natural, solid, nonliving

• metallic luster, fracture, streak

• liquid, natural, made of elements

• hardness, crystal shape, nonmetallic luster

When you strike a piece of quartz with a chisel, it breaks into uneven pieces. Which property of quartz is this?

• streak

• luster

• cleavage

• fracture

Rock forms in many different ways. What type of rock forms when magma or lava hardens?

• rock salt

• igneous rock

• sedimentary rock

• metamorphic rock

Maria went hiking and saw a cliff made of layers of rock. What type of rock did Maria see?

• volcanic

• igneous

• sedimentary

• metamorphic

Which of the following contains three parts of the rock cycle?

• melting and cooling, uplift, evaporation

• deposition, heat and pressure, weathering

• uplift, condensation, erosion

• weathering, heat and pressure, crystalization

The mineral galena scratches talc, does not scratch apatite, scratches gypsum, and does not scratch fluorite. If talc has a hardness of 1, gypsum a hardness of 2, calcite a hardness of 3, fluorite a hardness of 4, and apatite a hardness of 5, based on the information above, what is the hardness of galena?

• between 1 and 2

• between 2 and 4

• between 4 and 5

• greater than 5

Some minerals have special properties. Which of these minerals can conduct electricity?

• calcite

• feldspar

• talc

• quartz

Scientists manufacture diamonds from carbon by using heat and pressure. These diamonds can be used to cut rocks, but they are not classified as minerals. Which statement explains why?

• These diamonds are made of glass

• These diamonds do not form in nature

• These diamonds are very soft and crumbly

• These diamonds do not have a crystal structure

If a mineral can be scratched with your fingernail and can be broken into thin sheets, it would be the mineral

• diamond

• gold

• mica

• quartz

Manuel labels a sample of quartz as "nonmetallic." Which mineral property is Manuel describing?

• cleavage

• fracture

• luster

• streak