Chapter 1: Rocks and Minerals Study Guide

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Chapter 1 Rocks and Minerals
Study Guide

• Mineral
• Nonliving solid material that has a definite
  chemical makeup
• Found in the Earths outermost layer- the crust
• You use minerals every day!
• Windows, wires, sunscreen, toothpaste, and lots
  more

• Properties of a mineral
• Luster the way a mineral shines, or reflects
  light.
• Metallic (looks like metal)
• nonmetallic (does not look like metal)
• shiny and dull
• Streak color of a mineral when it is ground into
  a powder. This is done by scrapping it across a
  ceramic tile.
• Hardness How easily a mineral is scratched. This
  can be done using a fingernail, penny, or nail.
  You could also check the hardness on the Mohs
  Hardness Scale.
• Cleavage When a mineral breaks on a flat
  surface.
• Color The color of a rock when you look at it.

• Mohs Hardness Scale
• Is a list showing how hard minerals are
• Listed in order from softest to hardest
• Listed using numbers 1-10

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I am a GEOLOGIST I am a scientist who studies
rocks

• Rocks
• Rocks are solid material made up of one or more
  minerals

• Three Types of Rocks
• Igneous Rocks
• Form when melted rock cools and hardens
• Minerals in the rocks form crystals
• Some igneous rocks formed by volcanoes
• Obsidian, basalt, and granite are types of
  igneous rocks

• The Rock Cycle
• Shows the process that can change rocks
• A rock can change from one type of rock to
  another

• Sedimentary Rocks
• Form when sand, bits of rocks, soil, and once
  living things are pressed together and harden.
• These materials are called sediments
• Sandstone and Limestone are types of sedimentary
  rocks

• Metamorphic Rocks
• Rocks changed by heat and pressure from below the
  Earths surface.
• Gniess is formed from granite (an igneous rock)
  that has undergone heat and pressure.

Weathering The breaking down of rocks into
smaller pieces called sediment
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• Layers of the Earth
• Crust thinnest layer, made of the ocean floor
  and the continents
• Mantle thickest layer, between crust and the
  core, upper part is soft, lower part is hard
• Outer Core liquid
• Inner Core hard, dense ball that is the hottest
  part of the Earth