🌍 Part 1: Earth's Structure and Rock Types

1. Match each layer of the Earth to its correct description:

Crust

Mantle

Outer Core

Inner Core

Liquid iron and nickel, 2,300°C

Solid iron and nickel, 5,000°C

Hot rock that flows slowly, 1,000°C

Thin rocky outer layer, 0-30°C

2. Which type of rock is formed from cooled magma or lava?

Sedimentary rock

Igneous rock

Metamorphic rock

Fossil rock

3. Select all characteristics that apply to metamorphic rocks:

Formed under high pressure and temperature

Contains visible layers or bands

Always contains fossils

Examples include marble and slate

4. Complete the rock cycle by filling in the missing processes:

Igneous rock + weathering and erosion → _____________ → heat and pressure → _____________ → melting → magma → cooling → _____________

🏔️ Part 2: Plate Tectonics and Minerals

5. Explain what happens at a convergent plate boundary and give one real-world example from Australia or nearby regions:

6. Which mineral property describes how a mineral breaks along flat surfaces?

Hardness

Cleavage

Lustre

Streak

7. Draw and label a diagram showing the three main types of plate boundaries (divergent, convergent, and transform). Include arrows to show plate movement:

8. A mineral has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale. Which of these objects could scratch it?

Copper coin (hardness 3)

Steel file (hardness 6.5)

Quartz (hardness 7)

Topaz (hardness 8)

🦕 Part 3: Fossils and Geological Time

9. Describe the difference between body fossils and trace fossils, providing one example of each:

10. Which conditions are most favourable for fossil formation?

Rapid burial in sediment with little oxygen

Exposure to air and weathering

High temperature and pressure

Volcanic activity and lava flows

11. Research and explain how scientists use index fossils to determine the relative age of rock layers. Include why trilobites are considered excellent index fossils:

12. The principle of superposition states that in undisturbed rock layers, the _____________ layer is the oldest, and the _____________ layer is the youngest.