Rocks and Minerals Mini Assessments

Jakobi cannot scratch a mineral sample with his fingernail, but he observes that he can scratch the mineral sample with a piece of metal. What physical property of the mineral sample is Dennis investigating?

• Cleavage

• Hardness

• Luster

• Streak

Minerals are identified and sorted by different characteristics. Luster is one way to sort minerals into different types. What is a mineral’s luster?

• The color it makes when rubbed on a tile

• The mineral’s elements and their arrangement

• The way light reflects from its surface

• The way it breaks when you strike it with a hammer

One of the properties of a mineral that is useful for identification is its streak. What is the streak of a mineral?

• The ability to scratch a reference mineral

• The color of a fine powder of the mineral

• The way it forms faces when it is broken

• The way that the mineral’s surface reflects light

Which of these is a category that can be used to describe rocks that have formed after magma cools?

• Fossilized

• Igneous

• Metamorphic

• Sedimentary

Sheila is classifying the rocks in her collection. She knows that limestone often contains fossils. In which category should she classify these rocks?

• Granite

• Igneous

• Sedimentary

• Metamorphic

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-4

How are rocks and minerals different?

• Minerals have definite chemical properties, and rocks are made of many minerals.

• Rocks have definite shapes, and minerals have different shapes and colors.

• Minerals form naturally on Earth’s surface, and rocks do not.

• Rocks are always soft, and minerals are always very hard.

When is metamorphic rock formed?

• when lava erupts from a volcano cools in water.

• when rocks fall off a mountain after millions of years of rain and wind

• when earthquakes shake up the rocks so they are broken into small pieces

• when sedimentary and igneous rocks change over time under heat and pressure

Brenda noted that mica breaks along smooth lines. What property of mica was Brenda observing?

• hardness

• luster

• cleavage

• streak

There are many different natural resources found in Florida. Which of the following can be described as a renewable resource?

• Oil is a renewable resource.

• Water is a renewable resource.

• Phosphate is a renewable resource.

• Limestone is a renewable resource.

Which of the following is best classified as a nonrenewable resource found in Florida?

• wind

• water

• sunlight

• phosphate

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1