Minerals and the Rock Cycle Quiz

Grade 6 · Science · Quiz

Evaluate your knowledge of minerals, rock types, and the processes that continuously reshape Earth's crust.

Questions

1. Which rock type forms when sediments are pressed and cemented together?

   1. Igneous
   2. Metamorphic
   3. Sedimentary
   4. Volcanic
   Show answer

   Answer: Sedimentary

   Sedimentary rocks form through compaction (pressing) and cementation (bonding) of sediment particles like sand, clay, and organic material deposited in layers over time.

2. What property of a mineral describes how it reflects light from its surface?

   1. Streak
   2. Hardness
   3. Luster
   4. Cleavage
   Show answer

   Answer: Luster

   Luster describes how a mineral's surface reflects light. Minerals can have metallic luster (like gold) or non-metallic luster (glassy, waxy, pearly, etc.).

3. What process changes sedimentary rock into metamorphic rock?

   1. Cooling and crystallization
   2. Weathering and erosion
   3. Heat and pressure deep underground
   4. Compaction and cementation
   Show answer

   Answer: Heat and pressure deep underground

   Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are subjected to intense heat and pressure deep within Earth's crust, causing the minerals to recrystallize without the rock melting.

4. Granite is an intrusive igneous rock. What does 'intrusive' mean?

   1. It forms from lava on Earth's surface
   2. It forms from magma that cools slowly underground
   3. It forms from compressed sediment
   4. It forms when rocks are heated and squeezed
   Show answer

   Answer: It forms from magma that cools slowly underground

   Intrusive igneous rocks form from magma that cools slowly underground (inside Earth). The slow cooling allows large crystals to grow, giving rocks like granite their coarse, grainy texture.

5. Which mineral would scratch quartz (hardness 7) on the Mohs scale?

   1. Talc (hardness 1)
   2. Calcite (hardness 3)
   3. Fluorite (hardness 4)
   4. Diamond (hardness 10)
   Show answer

   Answer: Diamond (hardness 10)

   On the Mohs scale, a mineral can only be scratched by a harder mineral. Diamond (10) is the hardest mineral and can scratch quartz (7). Only minerals harder than 7 can scratch quartz.

6. Which of the following correctly shows a pathway in the rock cycle?

   1. Igneous → heat and pressure → metamorphic
   2. Sedimentary → cooling → igneous
   3. Metamorphic → evaporation → igneous
   4. Igneous → cementation → metamorphic
   Show answer

   Answer: Igneous → heat and pressure → metamorphic

   Igneous rock buried deep underground can be subjected to heat and pressure (without melting) to become metamorphic rock. This is a valid rock cycle pathway.

7. A mineral must be formed by living organisms to be considered naturally occurring.

   Show answer

   Answer: False

   By definition, minerals are inorganic — they are NOT formed by living organisms. Minerals form through natural geological processes such as crystallization from magma or precipitation from water.

8. The colored powder left behind when a mineral is rubbed against a rough white tile is called its ________.

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   Answer: streak

   Streak is the color of a mineral's powder, tested by rubbing the mineral across an unglazed white porcelain tile. Streak is often more consistent than surface color for identifying minerals.

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