From http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0072414944/9357/RockFra.html Rocks and Minerals Question #1: Quartz is a mineral because it is (A). a white rock. (B). natural, inorganic, and has a crystalline structure. (C). an element. (D). composed of more than one element. #1 Answer Question #2: Granite is a rock because it is (A). made up of several minerals. (B). natural, inorganic, and has a crystalline structure. (C). made up of several different elements. (D). found on the earth's surface. #2 Answer Question #3: One of the following mineral properties can be determined by observing, rather than doing something to a sample. (A). streak (B). fracture (C). luster (D). hardness #3 Answer Question #4: When hit with a hammer, most minerals will show (A). streak. (B). fracture. (C). cleavage. (D). hardness. #4 Answer Question #5: An igneous rock that formed by rapid cooling will probably have crystals that are (A). large. (B). small. (C). middle-sized. (D). mixed large and small sizes. #5 Answer Question #6: Materials that settle out of water are known as (A). mud. (B). sand. (C). sediments. (D). hard water. #6 Answer Question #7: In which type of rock would you expect to find fossils? (A). granite (B). obsidian (C). shale (D). marble #7 Answer Question #8: A rock made up of cemented sand grains is (A). conglomerate. (B). quartzite. (C). shale. (D). sandstone. #8 Answer Question #9: Which of the following does not belong with the others? (A). gypsum (B). sandstone (C). marble (D). limestone #9 Answer Question #10: The elements that occur most frequently in the earth's crust are (A). carbon and oxygen. (B). hydrogen and oxygen. (C). magnesium and iron. (D). silicon and oxygen. #10 Answer Question #11: One of the following cooled too quickly to allow crystals to form. (A). obsidian (B). quartz (C). halite (D). mica #11 Answer Question #12: Heat and pressure can change slate to the metamorphic rock schist. What is probably formed when more heat and pressure acts on schist? (A). shale (B). slate (C). gneiss (D). marble #12 Answer Question #13: Magma that cools slowly beneath the earth's surface produces (A). ore minerals. (B). intrusive igneous rocks. (C). fine-grained metamorphic rocks. (D). extrusive igneous rocks. #13 Answer Question #14: A fine-grained igneous rock made of mostly orthoclase feldspar, quartz crystals, and a few ferromagnesian crystals is probably (A). rhyolite. (B). granite. (C). gabbro. (D). basalt. #14 Answer Question #15: Igneous rocks are classified by (A). grain size and color. (B). density and texture. (C). mineral composition and texture. (D). mineral composition and hardness. #15 Answer Question #16: Sedimentary rocks are classified by (A). sediment size or chemical composition. (B). mineral composition and color. (C). sediment size and hardness. (D). sediment size alone. #16 Answer Question #17: Metamorphic rocks are classified according to (A). degree of foliation or recrystallization. (B). grain size or sediments color. (C). chemical composition or sediment size. (D). extent of melting. #17 Answer Question #18: What process in the rock cycle are you performing if you pack a snowball so tightly it becomes an iceball? (A). weathering, sedimentation (B). melting (C). deformation, recrystallization (D). none of the above. #18 Answer Question #19: What process in the rock cycle are you performing if you put salt on ice on your sidewalk? (A). weathering, sedimentation (B). melting (C). deformation, recrystallization (D). none of the above. #19 Answer Question #20: What process in the rock cycle are you performing if you mix your garbage in your garden. (A). weathering, sedimentation (B). melting (C). deformation, recrystallization (D). none of the above. #20 Answer Answer Window The Rocks and Minerals Test consists of 20 questions. Correct answers are found through links located at the end of each question. The answer section is formatted for on-screen use, not printing, and will waste a lot of paper if printed directly. Have a fun learning experience! Question #1: Quartz is a mineral because it is (B). natural, inorganic, and has a crystalline structure. In the earth sciences, a mineral is defined as a naturally occurring, inorganic solid element or compound with a crystalline structure. The crystal structure might be on the microscopic scale and is not necessarily obvious to the unaided eye. Question #2: Granite is a rock because it is (A). made up of several minerals. A rock is a solid aggregation of one or more minerals that have been cohesively brought together by a rock-forming process. There are many possibilities of different kinds of rocks that could exist from many different variations of mineral mixtures. Question #3: One of the following mineral properties can be determined by observing, rather than doing something to a sample. (C). luster A test for fracture requires that you break the sample, the streak test requires that you rub a sample across a piece of tile, and the test for hardness requires that you scratch the sample. Luster, on the other hand, describes how the sample looks. Question #4: When hit with a hammer, most minerals will show (B). fracture. Fracture results in an irregular surface rather than a well-defined, smooth plane. Most minerals do not show cleavage when broken, but do show fracture. Question #5: An igneous rock that formed by rapid cooling will probably have crystals that are (B). small. Rapid cooling does not result in sufficient time for larger crystals to form, so igneous rocks that form by rapid cooling will have a fine texture with small crystals. Question #6: Materials that settle out of water are known as (C). sediments. Sediments are accumulations of silt, sand, or gravel that settle out the atmosphere or out of water. The word "sediment" means the act of settling, or to settle. Question #7: In which type of rock would you expect to find fossils? (C). shale Obsidian and granite are igneous rocks, formed under conditions that would probably destroy any material or sign of former life. Marble is a metamorphic rock formed when calcite crystals were recrystallized from limestone, again a condition that would probably destroy any fossils. Shale, on the other hand, is a sedimentary rock that formed from sediments of silt or clay in a process that would help preserve evidence of former life. Question #8: A rock made up of cemented sand grains is (D). sandstone. Sandstone, as the name implies, is a sedimentary rock formed from sand that has been consolidated into solid rock. Sand is a sediment with a size range of 1/16 to 2 mm. Conglomerate is a sedimentary rock formed from sediment with size ranges over 256 mm. Shale is a sedimentary rock formed from sediments with a size range less than 1/16 mm. Quartzite is a metamorphic rock formed from recrystallized quartz-rich sandstone. Question #9: Which of the following does not belong with the others? (C). marble Marble does not belong with the others because it is a metamorphic rock and all the others are sedimentary rocks. Question #10: The elements that occur most frequently in the earth's crust are (D). silicon and oxygen. Oxygen is the most abundant element in the earth's crust, making up about 50 percent by weight. Silicon is the second most abundant element in the crust, making up about 25 percent. Together, oxygen and silicon make up about 75 percent by weight of the elements that make up the crust. Question #11: One of the following cooled too quickly to allow crystals to form. (A). obsidian Obsidian has the same chemical composition as granite, but it cooled so rapidly that no crystals were formed. It is a translucent volcanic glass, not a mineral. Question #12: Heat and pressure can change slate to the metamorphic rock schist. What is probably formed when more heat and pressure acts on schist? (C). gneiss Slate is a metamorphic rock formed as a result of high temperature and pressure acting on the sedimentary rock shale. Slate is fine-grained with no crystals visible to the unaided eye, but alignment of the microscopic crystals results in a tendency of slate to split into flat sheets. Greater heat and pressure can cause more metamorphic change, resulting in larger crystals and increased foliation. The metamorphic rock schist can be produced by slate by further metamorphism. In schist the cleavage surfaces and coarser mica crystals are now visible to the unaided eye. Still further metamorphism of schist may break down the mica crystals and produce alternating bands of light and dark minerals. These bands are characteristic of the metamorphic rock gneiss. Slate, schist, and gneiss are three examples of a continuous transition that can take place from the metamorphism of shale. Question #13: Magma that cools slowly beneath the earth's surface produces (B). intrusive igneous rocks. Magma that cools slowly deep below the surface produces coarse-grained intrusive igneous rocks. Since magma below the surface loses heat slowly the atoms have sufficient time to produce large crystals, giving the intrusive rocks a coarse-grained texture. Question #14: A fine-grained igneous rock made of mostly orthoclase feldspar, quartz crystals, and a few ferromagnesian crystals is probably (A). rholite. The igneous rock classification scheme is based on mineral composition and texture. A combination of orthoclase feldspars, quarts, and some ferromagnesians would be light colored, and low density rocks with the same mineral composition as granite. However, granite is coarse-grained and the fine-grained equivalent is named rhyolite. Click here to see a chart that shows some of the names of igneous rocks with blends of minerals with various textures. Question #15: Igneous rocks are classified by (C). mineral composition and texture. The igneous rock classification scheme is based on mineral composition and texture. Click here to see a chart that shows some of the names of igneous rocks with blends of minerals with various textures. For example, a dark colored, high density blend of plagioclase feldspars and ferromagnesians with a fine-grained texture is called basalt. Question #16: Sedimentary rocks are classified by (A). sediment size or chemical composition. There are two sources of sediments that provide the raw materials for sedimentary rocks, (1) weathered rock fragments, and (2) dissolved rock materials. Weathered rock fragments are called clastic sediments, and these accumulate from rocks that are in various stages of being broken down. Sedimentary rocks that are formed from clastic sediments are named according to the sizes of the sediments. Dissolved rock materials form chemical sediments that are deposited through (a) chemical precipitation from solution, (b) crystallization from evaporating water, or (c) as biological sediments. Question #17: Metamorphic rocks are classified according to (A). degree of foliation or recrystallization. Metamorphic changes caused by heat and pressure depend on the mineral composition of the parent rock and the extent of the pressure, temperature, and hot solutions that may or may not be present to induce chemical changes. Pressure on parent rocks with flat crystal flakes tends to align the flakes in parallel sheets. This new crystal alignment if called foliation, which gives a metamorphic rock the property of breaking along the planes between the aligned mineral grains. The extent of foliation is determined by the extent of the metamorphic changes. Some metamorphic rocks are nonfoliated because they consist mainly of one mineral, and the grains are not aligned into sheets. These are formed by a recrystallization of the parent rock. Question #18: What process in the rock cycle are you performing if you pack a snowball so tightly it becomes an iceball? (C). deformation, recrystallization The rock cycle concept views an igneous, a sedimentary, or a metamorphic rock as a temporary stage in the ongoing transformation of rocks to new types. Making an iceball by using heat and pressure sounds much like the deformation and recrystallization rock cycle process that takes place when metamorphic rocks are formed. Question #19: What process in the rock cycle are you performing if you put salt on ice on your sidewalk? (B). melting The rock cycle concept views an igneous, a sedimentary, or a metamorphic rock as a temporary stage in the ongoing transformation of rocks to new types. Melting ice sounds much like the melting process that takes place in the rock cycle to form igneous rocks. Question #20: What process in the rock cycle are you performing if you mix your garbage in your garden. (A). weathering, sedimentation The rock cycle concept views an igneous, a sedimentary, or a metamorphic rock as a temporary stage in the ongoing transformation of rocks to new types. Mixing garbage in your garden sounds like the rock cycle process of sedimentation and weathering.