Rock And Minerals

Question 1

A solid inorganic substance.

Answer 1

Minerals

Question 2

The outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

Answer 2

lithosphere

Question 3

A very hot mixture of molten rock and gases, just below the Earth’s surface.

Answer 3

Magma

Question 4

A matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid.

Answer 4

Sediments

Question 5

Elements that occur in nature in an uncombined form with a distinct mineral structure

Answer 5

native elements

Question 6

a solid material that is arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a lattice that extends in all directions.

Answer 6

crystals

Question 7

a gentle sheen or soft glow

Answer 7

lustre

Question 8

colour of a mineral, found by rubbing it onto an unglazed white ceramic tile

Answer 8

streak

Question 9

a measure of how difficult it is to scratch the surface of a solid material.

Answer 9

Hardness

Question 10

the process of eroding or being eroded by wind, water, or other natural agents

Answer 10

Erosion

Question 11

denoting rocks composed of broken pieces of older rocks.

Answer 11

Clastic

Question 12

relating to chemistry, or the interactions of substances as studied in chemistry.

Answer 12

Chemical

Question 13

relating to or derived from living matter.

Answer 13

Organic

Question 14

the remains or impression of a prehistoric plant or animal embedded in rock and preserved in petrified form

Answer 14

Fossils

Question 15

rocks that form from the cooling of lava or magma as it is thrown through the air from a volcanic eruption

Answer 15

igneous rocks

Question 16

igneous rock that forms when lava cools above the Earth’s surface

Answer 16

extrusive rocks

Question 17

a very light and porous volcanic rock formed when a gas-rich froth of glassy lava solidifies rapidly.

Answer 17

pumice

Question 18

basaltic lava ejected as fragments from a volcano, typically with a frothy texture.

Answer 18

scoria

Question 19

capable of polishing or cleaning a hard surface by rubbing or grinding

Answer 19

abrasive

Question 20

A dark fine-grained volcanic rock that sometimes displays a columnar structure, typically composed mainly of plagioclase with pyroxene and olivine.

Answer 20

basalt

Question 21

a hard, dark, glass-like volcanic rock formed by the rapid solidification of lava without crystallization.

Answer 21

Obsidian

Question 22

igneous rock that forms when magma cools below the Earth’s surface

Answer 22

intrusive rocks

Question 23

a very large igneous intrusion extending to an unknown depth in the earth’s crust.

Answer 23

batholiths

Question 24

a very hard, granular, crystalline, igneous rock consisting mainly of quartz, mica, and feldspar and often used as a building stone.

Answer 24

granite

Question 25

rocks formed from sediments deposited by water, wind or ice. The sediments are cemented together in layers, under pressure.

Answer 25

sedimentary rocks

Question 26

the wearing away and removal of soil and rock by natural elements, such as wind, waves, rivers and ice, and by human activity

Answer 26

erosion

Question 27

flat, open land beside a river where sediments are deposited during floods

Answer 27

floodplains

Question 28

large bodies of ice that move down slopes and push boulders, rocks and gravel in front of them

Answer 28

glaciers

Question 29

the deposit left by the movement of a glacier

Answer 29

moraines

Question 30

sedimentary rock with medium-sized grains. The sand grains are cemented together by silica, lime or other salts.

Answer 30

sandstone

Question 31

a fine-grained, sedimentary rock without layering

Answer 31

mudstone

Question 32

a fine-grained sedimentary rock formed in layers by the consolidation of clay

Answer 32

shale

Question 33

sedimentary rock with a particle size between that of sandstone and mudstone

Answer 33

siltstone

Question 34

sedimentary rock containing large particles of various sizes cemented together

Answer 34

conglomerate

Question 35

alteration of the composition or structure of rock by heat, pressure, or other natural agency.

Answer 35

metamorphism

Question 36

rock formed from another rock that has been under great heat or pressure

Answer 36

metamorphic rocks

Question 37

a hard crystalline metamorphic form of limestone, typically white with coloured mottlings or streaks, which may be polished and is used in sculpture and architecture.

Answer 37

marble

Question 38

a metamorphic rock with a banded or foliated structure, typically coarse-grained and consisting mainly of feldspar, quartz, and mica.

Answer 38

gneiss

Question 39

an idealized cycle of processes undergone by rocks in the earth's crust, involving igneous intrusion, uplift, erosion, transportation, deposition as sedimentary rock, metamorphism, and further melting and igneous intrusion.

Answer 39

Rock cycle

Question 40

rocks mined to obtain a metal or other chemical within them

Answer 40

mineral ores

Question 41

extraction of natural resources from the Earth

Answer 41

mining

Question 42

study of the possible effects of a planned project on the environment

Answer 42

environmental impact statement

Question 43

restored to its previous condition

Answer 43

rehabilitated

Question 44

waste rock removed from below the topsoil. This rock is replaced when the area is restored.

Answer 44

overburden

Question 45

mining that scours out soil and rocks on the surface of the land

Answer 45

open-cut mining

Question 46

mining that uses shafts and tunnels to remove rocks from deep below the surface

Answer 46

underground mining

Question 47

the time beginning about two million years ago during which early humans made implements of stone

Answer 47

stone age

Question 48

a mixture of a metal with a non-metal or another metal

Answer 48

alloy

Question 49

a fine-grained sedimentary rock which leaves a very sharp edge when broken

Answer 49

flint

Question 50

a process in which tool stones such as flint or obsidian were struck with harder stones, such as quartzite, to shear large flakes that could be used to make small tools

Answer 50

percussion flaking

Question 51

any remains, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of a former geological age; evidence of life in the past

Answer 51

fossil

Question 52

the buckling of rocks. It is caused when rocks are under pressure from both sides.

Answer 52

folding

Question 53

a scientist who studies fossils

Answer 53

palaeontologists

Question 54

the age of a rock compared with the age of another rock

Answer 54

relative age

Question 55

an animal that eats other animals

Answer 55

carnivores

Question 56

animals that eat dead plant and animal material

Answer 56

scavengers

Question 57

the cavity in a rock that shows the shape of the hard parts of an organism; types of fungi found growing on the surface of foods

Answer 57

mould

Question 58

fossils that provide evidence, such as footprints, that an organism was present when the rock was formed

Answer 58

trace fossils

Question 59

describes volcanoes that are no longer active. Extinct volcanoes have not erupted for thousands of years and show no sign of a future eruption.

Answer 59

extinct