Science Quiz - Soil and Rocks 01 (Answers)
This KS3 Science quiz looks at soil and rocks. The Earth has a layered structure, the part on which we live is called the crust. It is made from solid rocks which are covered in many places by soil. Soil is created from the weathering and erosion of the rocks, so the type of soil in an area depends on what rocks are in the region. Rocks are made from minerals that are joined together. If an area is mainly made from the rock limestone or chalk, the soil will contain a lot of calcium carbonate because that is the main mineral in those rocks.
There are three main groups of rock - sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Sedimentary rocks are formed where particles of rock that have been weathered and transported are deposited in layers. This can happen in rivers, lakes, oceans and on land in deserts.
Igneous rocks are made from molten magma that has cooled and solidified. Magma that has come out of a volcano before going solid is called lava. Metamorphic rocks are formed when any type of rock has been crushed or heated (or both!). It is important to remember that a metamorphic rock has never been melted - if it had, it would be an igneous rock! These groups of rock are linked by the rock cycle.
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You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Useful materials
There are several different types of weathering which can be grouped as mechanical or chemical
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Magma is molten rock
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70% of all rocks on Earth are sedimentary and they are the only type to contain good fossils
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Igneous comes from the Greek word meaning fire
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The particles are larger than silt and clay so water can get through more easily. Loam contains a lot of humus which absorbs water and keeps it from draining away. It is the best sort of soil for growing plants in
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Igneous rock, Basalt, is the most common rock on Earth
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Aberdeen in Scotland is known as the Granite City because a lot of the public buildings have been built from the local rock which is a greyish-coloured granite
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Metamorphic comes from Greek words meaning 'change' and 'form'. This is actually a description of marble
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Freeze-thaw is a type of weathering that occurs in cold places. Lava is molten rock that has reached the surface of the Earth. Transportation is the movement of weathered particles and forms part of the process of erosion
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The white cliffs of Dover are chalk. Limestone is the other important rock that is made from the mineral calcium carbonate. At GCSE, you will find out just how many products that you use every single day of your life involve limestone somewhere in their production
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