Download ROCKS AND MINERALS STUDY GUIDE Classification of Rocks

ROCKS AND MINERALS STUDY GUIDE
Classification of Rocks and Minerals
1. A rock is made up of minerals.
2. A mineral is a pure chemical substance.
3. We can classify rocks in the following ways:
a. hardness
b. cleavage
c. streak
d. colour
e. magnetic
f. cleavage
g. lustre
h. texture
4. Lustre is how a rock reflects light.
5. The vinegar test tests for calcium bicarbonate which is found in
seashells and skeletons of marine animals.
6. Cleavage is how a rock breaks.
7. In the hardness test we scratch the rock or mineral with a
fingernail, penny, nail, and an emery file to see how hard it is.
ROCKS AND MINERALS STUDY GUIDE
3 Types of Rocks
1. Igneous rocks are formed from lava and magma that has
cooled. Lava is outside the earth. Magma is inside the earth.
2. Metamorphic rocks are formed from HEAT and pressure.
a. Igneous and Sedimentary rocks can change into
metamorphic rocks.
3. Sedimentary rocks are formed from sediments cementing
together over millions of years.
Layers of the Earth
1. Crust - tectonic plates
2. Mantle - viscous
3. Outer Core - liquid as hot as the sun
4. Inner Core - solid as hot as the sun
ROCKS AND MINERALS STUDY GUIDE
Notes
1. A geologist studies rocks.
2. A paleontologist studies dinosaur, insect and plant fossils from the
past.
3. Soil is made up or organic and inorganic material.
4. Organic matter is material that is or was alive like plants and
insects.
5. Inorganic matter is material that has never been alive like rocks
and minerals.
6. Heavy material sinks to the bottom and lighter material floats to
the top.
Uses of Rocks and Minerals
1. drill bits
2. jewelry
3. tile floors
4. bricks
5. tools
6. buildings
ROCKS AND MINERALS STUDY GUIDE
Ways Rocks Break Down
1. Weathering is the process of breaking rocks into smaller pieces.
a. Example: Smashing a rock with a hammer.
2. When water freezes in a rock it expands and slowly breaks a rock
apart. Charcoal briquette experiment.
3. Rocks in rivers break down because the water bumps them
together, breaking off small pieces (sediments)which makes the
rock smooth (texture). Shaking rocks in 2L pop bottle mimicked
this.
4. Erosion is another way rocks break down. Examples of erosion:
a. wind erosion
b. rain erosion
c. chemical erosion
5. Trees and plants prevent erosion because their roots hold the
ground or rock in place.