Rocks, Minerals, Soils, and Fossils Quiz 1

Miranda plants a garden in soil that is mostly made of clay. The plants don't grow well. Which reason below BEST explains why the plants do not grow well?

• There is too much humus in clay.
• Water does not pass easily through the clay.
• The clay is made up of rough particles of dirt.
• The clay has too much loam in it.

Henry has a sample of the mineral quartz. What statement is true about quartz?

• Quartz cannot be scratched with Fluorite.
• Quartz can be scratched with Topaz, but not Corundum. 
• Quartz can be scratched with Apatite.
• Quartz cannot be scratched with Feldspar. 

Which group of words best describes humus?

• bits of dead plant and animal bits
• minerals found inside a rock
• soil deposited in a river delta
• small particles of silt and sand

When is a group of living things extinct?

• when there is an earthquake
• when half of its members die
• when all of its members die
• when there is a volcano

What might a scientist learn from a fossil of a dinosaur footprint?

• the age of the dinosaur
• the color of the dinosaur
• about how big the dinosaur was
• how fast the dinosaur could run