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A naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal
structure and a definite chemical composition.
A type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the
remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented
together.
Mineral
Sedimentary Rock
A solid in which the atoms are arranged in a pattern
that repeats again and again.
Sedimentary rock that forms when rock fragments are squeezed
together under high pressure.
Crystal
Clastic Rock
The color of a mineral’s powder.
The process by which dissolved minerals crystallize and glue
particles of sediment together into one mass.
Streak
Cementation
The way a mineral reflects light from its surface. Can
be metallic or non-metallic.
The process by which sediments are pressed together under their
own weight.
Luster
Compaction
A mineral’s ability to split easily along flat surfaces.
Sedimentary rock that forms from remains of organisms
deposited in thick layers.
Cleavage
Organic Rock
The way a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an
irregular way.
Sedimentary rock that forms when minerals crystallize from a
solution.
Fracture
Chemical Rock
Metamorphic rock that have grains arranged in
parallel layers.
The series of processes in which a rock forms, changes from one
type to another, is destroyed, and forms again by geological
processes.
Foliated
Rock Cycle
A consolidated mixture of minerals.
Rocks.
Remains or traces (whole or part) of past plant and animal life
that has been preserved in sedimentary rock.
Igneous rock formed from lava that cooled on Earth’s
surface.
Fossil
The geologic principle that states that in horizontal layers of
sedimentary rock, each layer is older than the layer above it and
younger than the layer below it.
Extrusive
Metamorphic rock in which the mineral grains are
arranged randomly.
Law of Superposition
A fossil formed when an organism buried in sediment dissolves,
leaving a hollow area.
Non-Foliated
Mold
Igneous rock that forms when magma hardens beneath
Earth’s surface.
A fossil that is a copy of the organism’s shape, formed when
minerals seep into a mold.
Intrusive
Cast
A type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten
rock at or below Earth’s surface.
A type of fossil that provides evidence of activities of ancient
organisms.
Igneous
A type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is
changed by heat, pressure, or chemical reactions.
Trace Fossil
The process or processes by which unconsolidated materials are
converted into coherent solid rock, as by compaction or
cementation.
Metamorphic
The grinding away of rock particles carried in water,
ice, or wind.
Lithification
The succession of eras, periods, and epochs as considered in
historical geology.
Abrasion
Geologic Time
The process that breaks down rock through chemical
changes.
Process in which sediment is laid down in new locations.
Chemical Weathering
Deposition
The process that splits rock when water seeps into
cracks, then freezes and expands.
The process by which water, ice, wind, or gravity moves
weathered rock or soil.
Ice Wedging
Erosion
The type of weathering in which rock is physically
A force that moves rocks and other materials downhill; the force
broken into smaller pieces.
that pulls objects towards each other.
Mechanical Weathering
Gravity
A chemical change in which a substance combines with
oxygen, as when iron oxidizes, forming rust.
A characteristic of materials, such as clay and granite, through
which water does not easily pass.
Oxidation
Impermeable
The chemical and physical processes that break down
rock at Earth’s surface.
Small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or
organisms; earth materials deposited by erosion.
Weathering
Sediment
Dark colored the decayed organic material in soil.
Characteristic of a material that is full of tiny, connected air
spaces that water can seep through.
Humus
Permeable
The loose layer of dead plant leaves and stems on the
surface of soil.
Energy rich substances - coal, oil, and natural gas – formed from
the remains of the organism.
Litter
Fossil Fuels
Mixture of humus, clay and other minerals that forms
the crumbly, topmost layer of soil.
Are any resource that cycles or can be replaced within a human
life span.
Topsoil
Renewable Resources
The layers of soil beneath the topsoil that contains
mostly clay and other minerals.
Any resource that cannot be replaced during the time of a human
life span.
Subsoil
Nonrenewable Resources
The loose, weathered material on Earth’s surface in
which plants can grow.
Are organic matter (wood, plants, animal residues, etc…) that
contain stored solar energy.
Soil
Biomass Fuels
Soil made up of about equal parts of clay, sand, and silt. Electricity produced using the energy of flowing water, for
example by building large dams.
Loam
Hydroelectric Power
Uses the process of fission or fusion of nucleus to release energy
to make electricity.
Nuclear Power