Rocks & Minerals GSE

Mrs. Miller's class is studying minerals. Mrs. Miller wants her class to complete a test to find out the color of minerals found in certain rocks. Which test does Mrs. Miller want her class to complete?

• luster test
• taste test
• streak test
• smell test

Paul is describing a mineral that he is holding to Douglas over the phone. He explains that it has the same texture throughout but the color on the inside is different from the color on the outside. Douglas tells Paul that 

• he is incorrect. A mineral has just one color, inside and outside. 
• he is correct. A mineral has one texture but more than one color.
• he is correct. Paul has a mineral.
• he is incorrect. Minerals have many textures. 

Mrs. Miller is teaching her class about rocks and minerals. She holds up a rainbow chocolate chip cookie and explains that the cookie is like a rock. Next, she points to the different colored chocolate chips. What do the chocolate chips represent?

• fossils
• rocks
• minerals
• gems

Adam and Chance are scratching chunks of minerals with a copper penny, their fingernails, and a steel nail. Which property are they testing for? 

• texture
• luster
• hardness
• color

Minerals can be identified according to their properties. Alan finds a mineral that is shiny. In which category does Alan's mineral belong?
___________ = shiny
nonmetallic = dull, glassy

• cleavage
• metallic 
• nonmetallic 
• hardness

This mineral is composed only of one element, carbon. It is listed as the hardest on MOHs' Scale of Hardness. Which mineral is this?

• gypsum 
• gold
• talc
• diamond

Which of the following statements is true? 

• Rocks and minerals are two different words for the same thing. 
• There is no relationship between rocks and minerals.
• All rocks are minerals, but all minerals are not rocks.
• All minerals are rocks, but not all rocks are minerals.  

Weathering and erosion work together to change the environment. How are these two processes different from each other? 

• Weathering and erosion both break down rocks into sediment.
• Weathering breaks down rocks into sediment, and erosion carries it away.
• Erosion breaks rocks down into sediment, and weathering carries it away.
• Weathering breaks rocks down into sediment, and erosion carries them away.

William collected a variety of interesting rocks on his hike, and he would like to use a chart he found on line to determine the kinds of rocks he found. Which list contains attributes that would BEST help William classify his bag of rocks?

• scent, sharpness, cracking, luster
• melting point, hardness, flammability
• texture, capacity to retain water, color
• color, texture, luster, and hardness

You and your science group have been handed five mineral samples to identify. First, you sort the minerals by color. All five minerals are WHITE! Two are glassy and transparent. You have identified two minerals. They are calcite and quartz. How can you EASILY tell them apart?

• check if one scratches glass
• check to see if one splits into sheets
• check if one is shiny
• check to see which has bands