Rocks & Minerals Vocabulary

Which term describes the things you can see, feel, or measure about a mineral, like color or hardness?

• Mineral cleavage

• Magnetic properties

• Physical properties

• Igneous texture

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

What does it mean when a mineral is magnetic?

• It breaks into flat pieces

• It shines under bright light

• It is pulled by a magnet

• It forms from melted rock

Which phrase best defines a mineral?

• Liquid melted metal

• Living plant material

• Natural non-living material

• Man-made shiny material

Streak is best described as which observation?

• Sound when tapped

• Color left on a tile

• Shape of the crystal

• Weight in your hand

Luster tells you what about a mineral?

• How magnetic it is

• How heavy it feels

• How shiny or dull it looks

• How it tastes or smells

Cleavage explains which behavior of a mineral?

• Breaks along flat surfaces

• Melts in hot lava

• Glows in the dark

• Forms from sand grains

Which rock forms when melted rock cools and hardens?

• Sedimentary rock

• Igneous rock

• Metamorphic rock

• Magnetic rock

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

Which rock type has changed because of heat and pressure inside Earth?

• Magnetic rock

• Sedimentary rock

• Metamorphic rock

• Igneous rock

Sedimentary rock is made mainly by which process?

• Small pieces get pressed together

• Melted rock cools and hardens

• Minerals break along flat planes

• Magnets pull metal grains

You rub a mineral on a tile and see a red mark. Which property did you measure, and why is it useful for identification?

• Cleavage shows flat broken surfaces

• Luster shows how shiny the tile is

• Streak shows the mineral’s true color

• Magnetic shows attraction to magnets