Rock Flash Cards

rocks and fossils rocks and fossils
Granite Gabbro
What do I look like? What do I look like?

Q Large crystals Q Medium sized crystals (look with a magnifying glass!)
Q Pale colour Q Grey colour
Q Doesn’t scratch easily with a paperclip (hard!) Q Doesn’t scratch easily with a paperclip (hard!)
Q Crystals arranged randomly Q Crystals arranged randomly
Q
Crystals different sizes
Gabbro Granite
All about me All about me

Formed when liquid rock (magma) cools quite slowly Formed when liquid rock (magma) cools very slowly
underground. underground.
This rock is very hard. This makes it very useful as rock This rock is very hard but also nice looking once it is
armour, it is placed along a coast line to protect the land polished. This makes it a useful material to make kitchen
from erosion by the sea. worktops out of because it can withstand hard usage and
still look pretty.
Dolerite Basalt

Q Small crystals (look with a magnifying glass!) Q Very small crystals
Q Black colour Q Black or greyish black colour
Q Scratches with a paperclip Q Scratches with a fingernail
Q Gas holes filled with a white mineral
Basalt Dolerite

Formed when liquid rock (magma) cools fast above ground, Formed when liquid rock (magma) cools underground,
often when erupted from a volcano. while it is being channelled up to a volcano.
This rock is the most common kind of rock in the Earth’s This rock can form very steep cliffs once it is exposed at
crust. In fact the ground under all the world’s oceans are the Earth’s surface, this is because it is very hard and is
made of basalt! only worn down very slowly by the wind and rain.
Gneiss Marble

Q Medium sized crystals Q Medium sized crystals
Q Pale colour Q Pure white
Q Doesn’t scratch easily with a paperclip (hard!) Q Sugary texture
Q Crystals arranged in bands Q Doesn’t scratch easily with a paperclip (hard!)
Q
Crystals all the same size
Marble Gneiss

Formed when limestone is buried deep underground and Formed when granite or sedimentary rock is buried deep
put under high temperature and pressures. underground and put under very high temperature
This rock is thought of as extremely beautiful and it comes and pressure.
in all sorts of colours. You will often see Ancient Greek and This rock can have patterns that let you see how the
Roman statues made from marble. original rock was bent and twisted. It is also the oldest type
of rock in Britain, you can find gneiss is Scotland that is
3,000 million years old!
Schist Slate

Q Medium sized crystals Q Very small crystals (you can’t see them with a
magnifying glass!)
Q Silver colour
Q Grey to purple colour
Q Very shiny when held to the light
Q Scratches with a penny
Q Often thin and flat in shape (you might see some layers!)
Slate Schist

Formed when mudstone or shale is buried deep Formed when mudstone or shale is buried deep underground
underground and put under low temperature and pressures and put under very high temperature and pressures.
(but higher than the surface!). This rock can grow gemstones! Garnet crystals can form in
This rock is useful as it is hard, it splits into thin sheets and schists, these crystals are very pretty and have been used
is impermeable (it doesn’t let liquid pass through). For this for jewellery since the Roman times.
reason it is often used to make roof tiles for houses.
Mudstone Limestone

Q Very small grains (you can’t see with a magnifying glass!) Q Very small grains (usually can’t see any with a
magnifying glass)
Q Dark brown to black colour
Q Grey or cream coloured
Q Scratches with a fingernail (it’s very soft!)
Q Fossils common (some of these might be shiny like crystals)
Q You can sometimes see bedding planes (layers in the rock)
Q Scratches with a paper clip
Limestone Mudstone

Formed in shallow oceans when coral and sea shells are Formed in deep oceans when mud falling to the seabed
crushed up or dissolved and build up in layers. These layers builds up in layers. These layers are squashed together or
are squashed together or compacted to make this kind or rock. compacted to make this kind or rock.
This rock was made during the Carboniferous period 360 This rock was made during the Jurassic Period 200 to 145
to 300 million years ago, before dinosaurs evolved, when million years ago, when sea levels were much higher and
huge swamps and rainforests covered lots of the Earth. oceans covered lots of the Earth.
Sandstone Desert Sandstone

Q Small grains (you can see with a magnifying glass!) Q Medium sized grains
Q Light brown, sandy colour Q Red colour
Q Grains can be shiny in the light Q Grains can glitter in the light
Q Doesn’t scratch easily with a paperclip (hard!) Q Doesn’t scratch easily with a paperclip (hard!)
Desert Sandstone Sandstone

Formed in a desert where sand grains are blown by the Formed in the mouth of a river (estuary) when sand that is
wind and build up. All of the sand grains are squashed carried by the river and dropped builds up in layers. These
together or compacted to make this kind or rock. layers are squashed together or compacted to make this
This rock was made during the Triassic period 250 to 200 kind or rock.
million years ago, before dinosaurs evolved, when huge This rock is permeable (lets liquid pass into it) this means it
deserts covered lots of the Earth. can be very good at storing water underground.
Oolitic Limestone Conglomerate

Q Medium sized grains Q Lots of different sized grains
Q Cream colour Q Pebbles and sand cemented together
Q Can scratch with a penny Q Sand has brown colour, pebbles are lots of different colours
Q Contains small white balls of limestone Q Can scratch with a penny
Q
Fossils common
Conglomerate Oolitic Limestone

Formed in a river when pebbles and sand are dropped to the Formed in shallow oceans when coral and sea shells roll
river bed and build up in layers. These layers are squashed around the sea floor and make little balls called ooids which
together and compacted to make this kind of rock. build up in layers. These ooids are squashed together or
This rock was made during the Jurassic Period 200 to 145 compacted to make this kind or rock.
million years ago, when sea levels were much higher and This rock is permeable (lets liquid pass into it) this
ocean covered lots of the Earth. means in the right conditions it is very good at storing oil
underground. We find oil in oolitic limestones in the Middle
East and the USA.
rocks and fossils
Chalk
What do I look like?

Q Very fine grains
Q Pure white colour
Q Can scratch with a penny
Q Chalky texture
rocks and fossils
Chalk
All about me
Formed in oceans when tiny sea creatures called algae die,
fall to the seabed and build up in layers. These layers are
squashed together or compacted to make this kind of rock.
This rock was made during the Cretaceous Period 145 to
65 million years ago, the golden age of dinosaurs.

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rocks and fossils rocks and fossils

What do I look like? What do I look like?

All about me All about me

What do I look like? What do I look like?

All about me All about me

What do I look like? What do I look like?

All about me All about me

What do I look like? What do I look like?

All about me All about me

What do I look like? What do I look like?

All about me All about me

What do I look like? What do I look like?

All about me All about me

What do I look like? What do I look like?

All about me All about me

What do I look like?

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