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Rocks and minerals – practice for Year 9

Sample questions on Rocks and minerals with the right answer and a worked solution, from easy to hard. In the Pickles Academy app a child gets new questions of the same kind every time, so they can't just learn the answers by heart.

Subject
Biology
Year
Year 9
Curriculum area
Non-living nature

Question types: Match the type of rock · Put in order

Rule: Rocks and minerals

Igneous rocks formed when magma cooled (granite, basalt); sedimentary rocks from layers of sediment (sandstone, limestone).

Metamorphic rocks formed from other rocks under great heat and pressure (gneiss, marble).

Mohs scale of hardness: 1 talc … 7 quartz … 10 diamond. A harder mineral scratches a softer one.

Example: Limestone turns into marble when it is changed by heat and pressure.

Watch out: A mineral is one substance (quartz); a rock is a mixture of minerals (granite: quartz, feldspar, mica).

Sample questions

  1. Question 1 Easy

    How did this rock form? Match each item (1–3) with the right option (A–C).

    1. andesite
    2. phyllite
    3. limestone
    • A) sedimentary
    • B) metamorphic
    • C) igneous (from magma)
    Show the solution
    Answer:
    1. andesite → C) igneous (from magma)
    2. phyllite → B) metamorphic
    3. limestone → A) sedimentary

    How it works: andesite – igneous (from magma); phyllite – metamorphic; limestone – sedimentary

  2. Question 2 Normal

    Put the minerals in order from softest to hardest (Mohs scale).

    • A) corundum
    • B) fluorite
    • C) apatite
    • D) diamond
    Show the solution
    Answer:
    1. fluorite
    2. apatite
    3. corundum
    4. diamond

    How it works: 1. fluorite (4) 2. apatite (5) 3. corundum (9) 4. diamond (10)

  3. Question 3 Hard

    How did this rock form? Match each item (1–3) with the right option (A–C).

    1. marble
    2. sandstone
    3. andesite
    • A) metamorphic
    • B) sedimentary
    • C) igneous (from magma)
    Show the solution
    Answer:
    1. marble → A) metamorphic
    2. sandstone → B) sedimentary
    3. andesite → C) igneous (from magma)

    How it works: marble – metamorphic; sandstone – sedimentary; andesite – igneous (from magma)

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