Rocks and Minerals

Base your answers to the following questions on the block diagrams of four rock outcrops, A, B, C, and D, located within 15 kilometers of each other. The rock layers have not been overturned. By which process was the quartzite formed?

• deposition of clastic sediment

• precipitation from seawater

• metamorphism of sandstone

• cementation of shells

Which mineral is white or colorless, has a hardness of 2.5, and splits with cubic cleavage?

• calcite

• halite

• pyrite

• mica

Mineral crystals of quartz, biotite mica, and amphibole are produced primarily by the

• chemical reaction of elements in seawater

• cooling and solidification of magma

• deposition of sediments by a glacier

• metamorphism of bituminous coal

The accompanying table indicates the presence of various minerals in different rock samples. Which statement is an accurate conclusion based on the information provided in the table?

• Most rocks are monomineralic.

• All rocks are polymineralic.

• Many rocks have a number of minerals in

  common.

• Only igneous rocks contain quartz.

Base your answer(s) to the following question(s) on the Earth Science Reference Tables, the index fossil diagram below, and your knowledge of Earth science. This index fossil was found in surface bedrock in New York State. The surface bedrock in which this index fossil was found is most likely composed of

• basalt

• granite

• limestone

• anthracite coal

The diagram below represents a sample of a rock. This rock would be classified as metamorphic because it shows

• distorted banding

• an organic composition

• a mixture of minerals

• crystals from precipitation

The data table below gives characteristics of the gemstone peridot. Peridot is a form of the mineral

• pyrite

• pyroxene

• olivine

• garnet

Which two processes lead directly to the formation of both breccia and conglomerate?

• melting and solidification

• heat and pressure

• compaction and cementation

• evaporation and precipitation

Which rock sample is most likely a foliated metamorphic rock?

• 
• 
• 
• 

When granite melts and then solidifies, it becomes

• a sedimentary rock

• an igneous rock

• a metamorphic rock

• sediments