1. The most abundant minerals in the Earth are:
1. carbonates
2. halides
3. sulfates
4. silicates
5. oxides

2. A mineral with three directions of cleavage will tend to split into:
1. thin sheets
2. long blocks
3. cubes
4. pyramids
5. thin needles

3. Gypsum, used to make plaster of Paris, is a mineral from this family:
1. carbonates
2. sulfates
3. oxides
4. phosphates
5. halides

4. Hardness is a measure of:
1. the strength of a mineral
2. the tenacity of a mineral
3. the resistance of a mineral to being broken
4. the resistance of a mineral to being scratched
5. the mass of a mineral

5. The major difference between intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks is
1. where they solidify
2. their chemical composition
3. the minerals they contain
4. all of the above
5. none of the above

6. Which silicate mineral family has a chain structure?
1. olivine
2. amphibole
3. garnet
4. pyroxene
5. both 2 and 4

7. An igneous texture characterized by small, invisible crystals is called:
1. phaneritic
2. aphanitic
3. porphyritic
4. glassy
5. cataclastic

8. Vertical sheets and channels of igneous rock beneath the surface are called:
1. dikes
2. sills
3. batholiths
4. laccoliths
5. stocks

9. The movement of crustal plates and the uplift of mountains and rock is driven by
1. gravity
2. heat in the Earth generated by nuclear fusion
3. heat in the Earth generated by nuclear fission
4. heat from the sun
5. 1 and 3

10. The nine planets in order from the sun are
1. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
2. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
3. Venus, Mars, Earth, Pluto, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, Mercury
4. Venus, Mars, Earth, Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter, Mercury, Pluto, Neptune
5. Vulcan, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

11. The most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust are
1. carbonates
2. phosphates
3. oxides
4. silicates
5. sulfides

12. Igneous rocks can be observed in the process of formation:
1. when volcanoes erupt
2. during earthquakes
3. in deep mines
4. igneous rocks can never be observed in the process of formation
5. on the moon

13. The interior of the Earth is best described as:
1. unlayered and homogeneous
2. layered and homogeneous
3. layered and heterogeneous
4. solid throughout
5. less dense than the outside

14. Water at 60° F is not a mineral because:
1. it is organic
2. it does not have a distinct elemental composition
3. it is crystalline
4. it is not a solid
5. not true! water is a mineral at 60° F.

15. Mica and clay minerals have this silicate architecture:
1. isolated tetrahedra
2. double tetrahedra
3. chain tetrahedra
4. sheets of tetrahedra
5. 3-D network of tetrahedra

16. The surface appearance of a mineral in reflected light is called:
1. cleavage
2. luster
3. brilliance
4. reflectance
5. refraction

17. The lithosphere is composed of:
1. the crust and uppermost mantle
2. the crust and the asthenosphere
3. the crust and the outer core
4. the continents and volcanic islands
5. the uppermost mantle and the asthenosphere

18. The important ore minerals of iron, copper, and lead are either:
1. sulfates or phosphates
2. phosphates or halides
3. oxides or phosphates
4. sulfites or phosphates
5. oxides or sulfides

19. Extrusive and volcanic igneous rocks are usually
1. aphanitic
2. phaneritic
3. pegmatitic
4. mafic
5. felsic

20. Two parts of the Earths interior are either liquid or semi-molten:
1. the mantle and lithosphere
2. the inner core and the outer core
3. the inner core and the asthenosphere
4. the mantle and the asthenosphere
5. the outer core and the asthenosphere

21. Which of the following is not a major rock type?
1. sedimentary
2. igneous
3. metamorphic
4. pegmatitic
5. none of the above are major rock types

22. Light colored igneous rocks contain large amounts of these minerals:
1. pyroxene and amphibole
2. olivine and pyroxene
3. quartz and pyroxene
4. quartz and feldspar
5. mica and pyroxene

23. Igneous rocks that cool so rapidly that mineral crystals do not form have this texture:
1. phaneritic
2. aphanitic
3. glassy
4. porphyritic
5. pyroclastic

24. Obsidian is different from most volcanic rocks in that it
1. contains no minerals
2. is green in color
3. is erupted underground
4. is erupted underwater
5. is radioactive

25. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of igneous rocks?
1. they crystallize from a molten state
2. they form below the surface of the Earth
3. they form on the surface of the Earth
4. they are no longer forming today
5. they are associated with volcanoes

26. An extensive horizontal sheet of igneous rock beneath the surface is called:
1. a dike
2. a batholith
3. a mascon
4. a sill
5. a lacolith

27. Compositionally, the Earth's interior is divided into these parts from the center outward:
1. crust, lithosphere, mantle
2. mantle, crust, core
3. core, mantle, crust
4. lithosphere, moho, mantle
5. mantle, crust, lithosphere

28. feldspar and quartz are similar minerals because they both have
1. two directions of cleavage
2. a 3-D or framework silicate structure
3. potassium atoms in their crystal structure
4. calcium atoms in their crystal structure
5. iron and magnesium in their crystal structure

29. The silicate minerals are composed primarily of these two elements:
1. silicon and oxygen
2. silicon and sulfur
3. silicon and carbon
4. silicon and helium
5. silicon and magnesium

Key

Q A

1 4

2 3

3 2

4 4

5 1

6 5

7 2

8 1

9 5

10 1

11 4

12 1

13 3

14 4

15 4

16 2

17 1

18 5

19 1

20 5

21 4

22 4

23 3

24 1

25 4

26 4

27 3

28 2

29 1

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