Properties of Rocks and Minerals Vocabulary List

What is the term for the following definition? To a geologist, this refers to the size of the pieces that make up the rock or mineral. A rock could have a coarse, medium, or fine _______.

• Texture

• Color

• Luster

• Hardness

What is the term for the following definition? The resistance of a rock to being scratched.

• Hardness

• Luster

• Cleavage

• Streak

What is the term for the following definition? A hard, solid part of the Earth’s surface. Most are made of combinations of minerals.

• Rock

• Soil

• Water

• Sand

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

What is the term for the following definition? A basic building block of all rocks, made up of one or more chemicals and is chemically the same all over the earth.

• Minerals

• Fossils

• Sediments

• Crystals

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

What is the term for the following definition? A scale that measures hardness and can be used to help identify minerals.

• Mohs Scale

• Richter Scale

• Beaufort Scale

• Fahrenheit Scale

What is the term for the following definition? Whether a rock or mineral is shiny, glassy, metallic or dull.

• Luster

• Hardness

• Cleavage

• Streak

What is the term for the following definition? You can look through the rock and see details of an object behind it, like through a window glass.

• Transparent

• Opaque

• Translucent

• Reflective

What is the term for the following definition? Light will be able to go through the rock but you won’t be able see through it clearly, like frosted glass.

• Translucent

• Opaque

• Transparent

• Reflective

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS4-2

What is the term for the following definition? It blocks light completely, casting a dark shadow.

• Opaque

• Transparent

• Translucent

• Reflective

What is the term for the following definition? The way some minerals naturally break into smaller pieces.

• Cleavage

• Luster

• Streak

• Hardness