Physical Geography
with David Spencer

Your name: ____________________

http://education.davidspencer.ca/geography/physical/rocks
Back to the list of Units

Date Assigned:

 

Date Due:

 

   

Unit # 9

Topic: Elements, Minerals and Rocks


If you have any questions about this assignment please send a message via
e-mail.

Refer to your textbook Chasmer,Ron. Earth Matters: Studies in Physical Geography. Oxford University Press, Don Mills, 2001 ISBN: 0-19-541555-8

Answer the following questions in sentence form in your physical geography notebook. Make sure that you include the headings and the important part of the question in your answers.

Elements and Minerals
1. In your notebook, draw and label the following diagram "The Earth's Core".

The Earth's Core: The Layered Interior of the Earth

(image © 1993 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.)

2. Refer to the Glossary in your textbook (page 442-451) and define the following terms:

a) biosphere
b) hydrosphere
c) cryosphere
d) lithosphere
e) asthenosphere
f) mesosphere

3. (page 84) What are elements?

4. (page 84) What are minerals and what do they form when they are combined?

5. (page 84) How many elements are found in nature?

6. (page 85) Examine Figure 6.2 List the names of the elements that form most of the earth's crust.

7. (page 84) Name an element that is also a mineral.

8. (page 84) Why are chemical formulas better for identifying minerals? Explain

9. (page 84) Name the elements and symbol that make up forsterite.

10. (page 84) Is water a mineral? Explain.

Igneous Rocks
11. (page 85) How are igneous rocks created? Explain.

12. (page 85) Draw a diagram or symbol to explain the difference between magma and lava.

13. (page 85) How do igneous rocks reach the surface of the earth?

14. (page 85) Differentiate between extrusive igneous rock and intrusive igneous rock.

15. (page 86) If you were on a canoe trip in northern Ontario and saw some igneous rock, how could you tell of the rock cooled slowly or rapidly? Explain.

16. (page 86) What kind of igneous rock is most of the Canadian shield comprised?

Sedimentary Rocks
17. (page 86) How are sedimentary rocks formed? Explain.

18. (page 86) Of the three types of sedimentary rocks, from which type would oil be created?

19. (page 86) How do the sediments build up?

20. (page 86-87) How is sediment transformed into rock? Explain.

21. (page 87) If you were hiking on the Niagara Escarpment in Caledon or Milton, you might see fossils of shells and skeletons of marine animals in the rock beneath your feet. Why? Explain.

22. (page 87) For industries to make cement or steel, one of the materials they need is a sedimentary rock formed where inland seas once were. Name this rock.

Metamorphic Rocks
23. (page 88) In metamorphic rocks, what changes and how does the degree of change occur?

24. (page 88) You may have been to an expensive hotel or building that has marble pillars, floors or walls. What type of rock becomes metamorphosed to form marble?

25. (page 88) Differentiate between contact metamorphic rock and dynamic metamorphic rock.

26. (page 88) Which trait will help you identify a metamorphic rock?

The Rock Cycle
27. (page 88-89) List five (5) actions in the environment that wear down igneous rock.

28. In your notebook, draw and label the following diagram "

The Rock Cycle
 

(image © copyright
Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA Classroom of the Future™)

Mining the Earth
29. (page 89-90) Name the two areas in southern Ontario where aggregates (sand and gravel) are found and used for road and building construction.

30. (page 91) List the names of the precious metals found in the Canadian Shield.

31. (page 93) Describe the geological factors that caused the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1800s.

32. (page 96) Summarize how oil was formed under the earth.

33. (page 96) Why are the Athabaska Oil Sands significant to Canada's oil industry?

34. (page 97) Describe the two (2) negative side effects caused by oil production in the Athabaska Oil Sands.

35. (page 98) Summarize how coal was formed under the earth.

36. (page 98) Why has the popularity of coal decreased in developed countries?

37. Oil is used to make plastic, synthetics, computer components and many types of entertainment media. List six (6) products or more that are made from oil in your home, in your clothing and in your vehicle.

 

Back to the list of Units

This physical geography lesson is copyrighted © 2003-2005 by David M.R.D. Spencer
eXTReMe Tracker