Question 1

Which statement explains why a crystal shape is a useful property of minerals?

Accepted Answer

Each mineral has crystals that are a particular shape

Answer

Crystal shapes vary within each type of mineral.

Answer

Few minerals form solid crystals that we can identify.

Answer

Most minerals are made of cube-shaped crystals.

Question 2

Most rocks are ______.

Accepted Answer

made of different combinations of minerals

Answer

made of one large crystal

Answer

made of only one type of mineral

Answer

made of granite

Question 3

Which property of minerals is described as dull, metallic, pearly, or glassy?

Accepted Answer

luster

Answer

color

Answer

hardness

Answer

streak

Question 4

Topaz leaves a scratch on calcite when they are rubbed together. What does that tell you
about the two minerals?

Accepted Answer

Topaz is a harder mineral than calcite.

Answer

Topaz has a brighter luster than calcite.

Answer

Topaz is a softer mineral than calcite.

Answer

Topaz has a lower Mohs number than calcite.

Question 5

A mineral is gold colored, has metallic luster, produces a green-black streak, and has a
hardness of 6–6.5. What mineral is it?

Accepted Answer

pyrite

Answer

calcite

Answer

quartz

Answer

hornblende

Question 6

What do bits of rock, soil, and dead matter form at the bottom of bodies of water?

Accepted Answer

sediments

Answer

sand

Answer

minerals

Answer

clay

Question 7

What type of rock forms from tiny bits of skeletons and shells of sea animals?

Accepted Answer

limestone

Answer

sandstone

Answer

shale

Answer

mudstone

Question 8

How does water help change rocks into soil?

Accepted Answer

Freezing and thawing cause pieces of rock to break apart.

Answer

Plant roots grow over pieces of rock, sanding off small pieces.

Answer

Gravity moves loose rocks and they settle on the ground.

Answer

Freezing keeps pieces of rock from breaking apart.

Question 9

Which sequence best describes the order of steps in forming some types of fossils?

Accepted Answer

sediments cover hard parts, rock layers form, rock erodes, fossils lie at surface

Answer

sediments settle on top, soft body parts decay, sediments harden into rock

Answer

soft body parts decay, minerals replace the soft parts, sediments settle on top

Answer

rock erodes, fossils lie at surface, sediments cover remains, rock layers form

Question 10

Fossils of giant sea turtles that lived long ago have been found in South Dakota. What did
scientists learn from that?

Accepted Answer

A shallow sea once covered what is now South Dakota.

Answer

Forces moved rocks from areas where oceans once were to South Dakota.

Answer

Other animals that ate sea turtles carried their remains to South Dakota.

Answer

Sea turtles used to live in much drier areas.

Question 11

How are time periods in the geologic time scale organized?

Accepted Answer

The geologic time scale is divided into four major time periods or eras.

Answer

Newer layers of rock generally form below the older rock layers.

Answer

The time scale is unrelated to the ages of layers of sedimentary rock.

Answer

The oldest rock layers are found at the top of the geologic time scale.

Question 12

Some igneous rocks cool slowly below Earth’s surface. What forms during this process?

Accepted Answer

large crystals

Answer

tiny crystals

Answer

glasslike structures

Answer

lots of gas bubbles

Question 13

Some igneous rocks cool quickly above Earth’s surface. What features do they have?

Accepted Answer

tiny crystals

Answer

separate layers

Answer

hot, gooey globs

Answer

large crystals

Question 14

Which type of rocks form as a result of heat and pressure?

Accepted Answer

metamorphic

Answer

fossils

Answer

sedimentary

Answer

igneous

Question 15

Why do some metamorphic rocks split into flat sheets and slabs?

Accepted Answer

The minerals are arranged in parallel layers

Answer

The shape of the crystals changes.

Answer

The chemicals in rocks form new types of minerals.

Answer

The size of the crystals changes.

Question 16

What are the two ways igneous rocks form during the rock cycle?

Accepted Answer

cooling slowly and cooling quickly

Answer

heat and pressure

Answer

forming layers and wearing away

Answer

weathering and erosion

Question 17

Which statement is true about the rock cycle?

Accepted Answer

The rock cycle is driven by heat, pressure, reactions, weathering, and erosion.

Answer

All rocks complete the rock cycle, but it may take a very long time.

Answer

The rock cycle follows this order: sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic.

Answer

During the rock cycle, every rock spends time above and below Earth’s surface.

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