SC.4.E.6.2 PROPERTIES OF MINERALS

Diamonds are minerals. Most of the world’s diamonds are used as tools. What property of a diamond makes it useful as a tool for drilling or cutting?

• Cleavage

• Color

• Hardness

• Luster

After rubbing quartz and calcite together, Raquel observes that the quartz scratches the calcite. Which physical characteristic is Raquel most likely trying to investigate by scratching these two minerals together?

• Cleavage

• Hardness

• Luster

• Streak

A teacher shows her class a mineral called serpentine. She says the mineral is greasy or shiny, but not like glass. Which property of the mineral is the teacher describing?

• Cleavage

• Color

• Hardness

• Luster

A scientist finds a rock sample and wants to test its cleavage. Which action should the scientist do to test the cleavage?

• Look closely at the sample to see if it reflects light.

• Break the rock to see what shape the pieces make.

• Scratch the rock against a hard surface to see what color it makes.

• Scratch it with his fingernail to see if he can make a mark.

In order to help identify a mineral, the mineral can be crushed or ground to a powder. In some cases, the color of the mineral's powder may differ from the actual color of the mineral. For identifying minerals, what word is used to refer to the color of a crushed mineral's powder?

• Cleavage

• Luster

• Hardness

• Streak

Fossilized remains of plants, animals, and other rocks are pressed together inside of which type of rock?

• Igneous

• Metamorphic

• Sedimentary

• Rockstars

Which of these types of rocks form as a result of a very large amount of heat and pressure?

• Igneous

• Metamorphic

• Sedimentary

• Rockstars

Which of these types of rocks are formed after magma cools?

• Igneous

• Metamorphic

• Sedimentary

• Rockstars

Once a rock is classified as sedimentary, it cannot change to igneous or metamorphic.

• True

• False