1. Minerals, Rocks,
and Fossils

2. What are rocks made of?
minerals

3. …naturally occurring substances.
Minerals are not made by people; they are …
…naturally occurring substances.

4. Color, luster, streak, and hardness
Name four properties (or clues) that scientists use to identify minerals.
Color, luster, streak, and hardness

5. Which property means the way the light bounces off the mineral?
luster

6. Glassy, dull, shiny, greasy
What words can be used to describe a mineral’s luster?
Glassy, dull, shiny, greasy

7. Many minerals have the same color.
Why is color not a good property to use to identify a mineral?
limestone
slate
Many minerals have the same color.

8. What are three testers that can be used to determine a mineral’s hardness?
fingernail, penny, nail

9. What type of rock is formed when magma cools and hardens?
Igneous

10. What type of rock is formed when change occurs from heat and pressure in the Earth?
Metamorphic

11. What type of rock is formed when weathering and erosion cause sediments to press together in layers?
Sedimentary

12. Melted rock below the Earth’s surface is called…
magma.

13. Small bits and pieces of rocks are called…
sediments.

14. The breaking down and wearing away of rocks is called…
weathering.

15. The movement of sediments from one place to another is called…
erosion.

16. What is any trace, mark, or remains of an organism called?
fossil

17. How old must a fossil be?
10,000 years
Now that’s old!!

18. What kind of rock are fossils usually preserved in?
sedimentary

19. They study them to learn about extinct plants and animals.
Why do scientists study fossils?