Understanding Rocks and Minerals

What is a mineral?

• A type of soil

• Solid matter found in nature

• A living organism

• A type of rock

What forms stalactites and stalagmites in caverns?

• Erosion by wind

• Deposition of the mineral calcite

• Melting of glaciers

• Compression of sediments

What is the layer beneath the Earth's crust called?

• The mantle

• The sediment layer

• The inner core

• The outer core

Which layer of the Earth is liquid rock?

• The inner core

• The crust

• The mantle

• The outer core

How is igneous rock formed?

• All of the above

• By heat and pressure on sedimentary rock

• From compressed sediments

• From magma or lava

What type of rock might contain fossils?

• All rocks

• Sedimentary rock

• Igneous rock

• Metamorphic rock

Which rock is formed from volcanic activity?

• Marble

• Limestone

• Granite

• Slate

What is coal classified as?

• A mineral

• A metamorphic rock

• A sedimentary rock

• An igneous rock

What natural process breaks rocks into smaller pieces?

• Weathering

• Erosion

• Condensation

• Solidification

What happens when water freezes in the cracks of rocks?

• The rock turns into sediment

• The rock becomes smoother

• The rock expands and may break

• The rock becomes impermeable