Rocks and Minerals

A mineral is inorganic, which means that it contains _____.

• compounds

• material made my humans

• no materials that were once part of living things

• parts of living things

A rounded, hollow rock that is often lined with mineral crystals is a _____________.

• cavern

• geode

• crystal

• diamond

The repeating pattern of a mineral’s particles forms a solid called a(an) _____.

• crystal

• element

• compound

• rock

____________________ is the process by which sediment settles after being moved around by wind or water.

• cementation

• erosion

• sediment

• deposition

_____ is the hardest known mineral.

• talc

• quartz

• diamond

• gold

Small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or living things are called ____________________.

• sediment

• erosion

• cementation

• compaction

Most minerals do NOT split apart evenly. Instead, they have a characteristic type of _____.

• cleavage

• fracture

• crystal

• luster

The carrying away of rock fragments by water, wind, or ice is called ____________________, an important process in the formation of sedimentary rocks.

• compaction

• deposition

• erosion

• igneous

The softest mineral on the Mohs hardness scale is _____.

• quartz

• talc

• apatite

• gypsum

Dissolved minerals and particles of sediment stick together to form sedimentary rock in a process called ____________________.

• geode

• metamorphic

• cementation

• erosion