Rocks and Minerals Study Guide Name:__________________________________Date:___________

Please know the definitions of the following words:

Evidence: having proof Geologist: a person who studies the earth and its materials Hardness: the resistance of something to being scratchedhow easily something can be scratched Mineral: an earth material that is an ingredient in rocks. A mineral has only one ingredient and can not be broken down any further Rock: an earth material made up of two or more minerals Geology: the study of the earth and its materials

Be able to explain and understand the difference between a rock and a mineral.
A rock can be broken down to its individual ingredients, called minerals. A mineral cannot be broken down any further and is just made up of one ingredient.

Explain how to do a scratch test. Include what type of tools you can use, what to do if you have no tools and how to tell which mineral is harder.
To do a scratch test, you can use tools such as a paperclip, penny or fingernail and see if there is a permanent mark on the mineral. You can also scratch two minerals against each other. The mineral with the scratch is the one that is softer. In class, we tested four minerals. The hardest was quartz, then flourite, calcite, and the softest was gypsum.

Why did we do the acid/vinegar test? What did it test for? What happened?
We used vinegar, a safe acid, to test for the mineral calcite. If calcite is present in a rock, you will see bubbling/fizzing. If calcite is not present, you will not see fizzing.

What are some properties of rocks and minerals?

Some properties are color, texture, shape (such as crystal), hardness, cleavage (the shapes an earth material breaks into), luster (how shiny or dull it is).

How did we use the evaporation test in class? What were we trying to do?
We used evaporation to look for salt in our mock rocks as well as to test for calcite. The salt and calcite that were dissolved in the liquid were left behind in the evaporating dish after we let the liquid evaporate. We saw salt crystals and calcite residue (white crusty stuff) in the dishes.

Tests we performed in class to be familiar with:

Scratch test, Acid/Vinegar test, Evaporation test and Observation of properties