Rocks & Minerals Review Quiz

Name: __________________________
1) Use a word from the following list to finish each sentence below. There may
be words in the list that will NOT be used.
Hardness

Soapstone

Granite

Lustre

Magnetite

Crystal

Texture

Calcium Carbonate

Salt

Streak

Colour

Diamond

a) A mineral that forms in a repeating pattern is:

______________________________
b) The way a mineral shines or reflects light is called:
__________________________
c) An example of a mineral we can eat is: _________________________
d) When we try scratching a rock with our fingernail or an emery file, we are
testing its: _____________________________________________
e) Rough, smooth, soft, uneven, coarse or fine are words that might be used
to describe this property: _______________________________
f) The hardest mineral of all is called: ______________________________
g) When we test a rock and check what colour powder it leaves behind, what
test are we doing? _______________________________
h) The softest mineral of all is: ______________________________________
i) When I drop a rock in vinegar or acid, I am looking for:
_____________________
____________________________
j) An example of a magnetic rock is: ______________________________

2) What are TWO tests you can do just by looking at the rock?
_______________________________

_______________________________

3) Look at the picture and description of each rock below. In the empty square
next to each rock, label if the rock is igneous, sedimentary or
metamorphic.
Melted rock cools back
down

Wind or water breaks

bigger rocks into bits.
These bits harden together
in clumps or layers.

Other rocks are heated up

and squeezed together.

4) Circle the 7 words that CAN be used to describe the lustre of a rock:
Metallic

Dull

Silky

Earthy

Shiny

Silvery

Greasy/ Oily

Reflective

Glassy

5) Rocks form because of these two things:

_________________________

_________________________

6) a) Miss Binks wants to perform the hardness test but forgets which order
she should use. Can you put these tests in order?
Glass
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Nail

Fingernail

Emery File

Coin

_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________

7) Water can change rocks in many ways. In the box below, draw a picture of
ONE way that water might change rocks.

Describe your drawing. Remember to add as many details as you can to

show your understanding.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Circle the correct answer:

8) In science, the word property means:

a.
b.
c.
d.

When you own a house or piece of land

A rock that has many layers
A quality we can use to describe a living thing, place, or object
How shiny a rock is

9) A scientist who studies rocks and the earths surface is a:

a. Statistician
b. Astronomer
c. Geographer
e. Geologist
10) The only mineral that can scratch diamond is:
a. Salt
b. Magnetite
c. Quartz
d. Diamond
11) Which property does the Mohs Scale measure?
a. Hardness
b. Streak
c. Lustre
d. Colour

12)If I put a rock that contains calcium carbonate into acid or vinegar, what
would it do? Draw a picture or explain in words in the box below.

13)Explain why organic material is important in soil.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

14)Name THREE more things that could be found in soil.

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

15)Rocks and minerals are found everywhere. In the box below, draw or
describe one way that rocks were used in the past.
16) Mrs. Ball is at it again! She lost another mineral! She asked Ms. Binks a few

questions and this is what she said:

It is glassy
It can leave a white streak
It CANNOT be scratched by a fingernail or coin
It does not fizz when dropped in vinegar

Mrs. Ball looked at the data room 9 collected:

Lustre
Streak

Quartz
glassy
colourless,

Calcite
glassy
colourless

white
Hardness
hard
soft
Vinegar
does not fizz
fizzes a lot
She decided that the missing mineral was halite

Galena
shiny metallic
dark grey

Halite
glassy
white

very soft
does not fizz

very soft
does not fizz

a) Is Mrs. Ball correct? ________________________________

b) Explain your thinking: ___________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
BONUS: True or False: The rock cycle never ends. _______________

Draw a picture of the rock cycle: