Read each statement carefully. Write your answers on the space provided after each questions.
1. What is the importance of identifying the different properties of minerals?
2. What is the disadvantage of just observing the color to identify a certain mineral?
Refer to the diagram below to answer item no. 3
3. If an unknown mineral has a hardness between 5 and 9, what could you do to the mineral to find
out more about its hardness?
You could try scratching it with feldspar, quartz, and topaz.
Refer to the diagram below to answer item no. 4 to 6.
1.
4. According to this rock cycle model, can a sedimentary rock be transformed directly into an igneous
rock? Why or why not?
No, in order for a rock to become igneous it must form from magma or melted rock. During the
process of melting, a sedimentary rock’s crystals would change making it a metamorphic rock first.
5. How could a metamorphic rock become a sedimentary rock.
A metamorphic rock could become a sedimentary rock if it were uplifted to Earth’s surface, broken
down into sediments by weathering and erosion, and then form a sedimentary rock by lithification.
6. Explain the rock cycle briefly using the diagram above.
MCQ
1. Which two mineral samples would be most difficult to distinguish from each other based on their
color, luster, and streak?
a. halite and quartz b. galena and quartz c. halite and gold d.
galena and gold
2. Why are physical properties such as hardness useful to geologists to identify minerals?
Physical properties are controlled by the mineral's bond strength, which is distinct in each mineral.
Physical properties are controlled by the mineral's hardness, which is distinct in each mineral.
Physical properties are controlled by the mineral's chemical composition, which is distinct in each
mineral
Physical properties are controlled by the mineral's chemical composition and atomic structure, This
combination is distinct in each mineral.
3. What does the mineral property of luster measure or describe?
A. Describes how easy it is to scratch the surface of a mineral
B. Describes how well a mineral reflects light
C. Measures the density of the mineral
D. The color of the mineral in powdered form
4. What does the mineral property of streak measure or describe?
A. Describes how easy it is to scratch the surface of a mineral
B. Describes how well a mineral reflects light
C. Measures the density of the mineral
D. The color of the mineral in powdered form
5. What are the two main elements that makeup silicate minerals?
A. Sulfur and hydrogen
B. Carbon and Oxygen
C. Silicon and Oxygen
D. Silicon and hydrogen
6. What do all rocks have in common?
a. They all have the same color.
b. They all have minerals.
c. They all have the same shape.
d. They are all the same size.
7. If you wanted to collect sedimentary rocks, what sort of characteristics would you look for in a
rock's composition?
a. Rock that includes sparkly crystals and other types of gemstones.
b. Rock that formed from magma or lava during a volcanic eruption.
c. Rock made from eroded material broken off other rocks and cemented together.
d. Rock that has been transformed into new substances due to intense heat and pressure.
8. What does the presence of tiny crystals in a piece of igneous rock tell you about it?
The molten rock cooled very quickly
The molten rock cooled very slowly
The molten rock cooled deep underground
The molten rock cooled slowly then rapidly
9. A student observed a rock made up of many small particles of sand arranged in light-colored layers
and dark-colored layers. Which of the following statements describes how this type of rock most likely
formed?
A. Clay was crushed and frozen under a glacier.
B. Lava from a volcano cooled quickly in water.
C. River sediments were slowly compacted and cemented together.
D. Mineral deposits hardened into solid rock in underground caves.
10. Dora wrote down some observations of four rock samples she was studying. Based on her
observations, which of the following rock samples is most likely a sedimentary rock?
