Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper or in the spaces provided. These questions are designed to enhance your ability to think like a geologist, to test your specific knowledge of geology, and to retrieve information from your class notes. Read each question carefully and thoroughly. Be patient and think logically. Submit this sheet along with any additional sheets at the end of the band.
1. While exploring in southern Missouri, a geologist discovers a mineral that possesses a bright silvery metallic luster and three directions of cleavage that define a cubic shape. It is also very dense and rather soft, and when rubbed against an unglazed ceramic plate, it leaves a black streak. Based on your knowledge of minerals (A) what is the most likely identity of this mineral, (b) what useful (as well as poisonous) element does it contain, and (C) what notorious role in ancient Roman history did this mineral play?
2. Which two features of any rock form the basis of its identification?
3. Briefly describe the three basic rock classes in terms of their environments of formation within the Earth's crust.
4. The top and bottom surfaces of a slab of tan-colored rock was discovered to possess impressions of the leaves of a variety of deciduous trees. The rock most likely belongs to which class? Explain.
5. I am a mineral with a pearly white luster. I am easily scratched by quartz, feldspar, and gypsum. I am mined on behalf of cosmetic companies who mix my crushed flakes with fragrance. What is my name?
