Compare igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, fossil formation, permeability and soil horizons. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.
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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. Which rock group forms over millions of years when layers of sand, mud, pebbles or shells are compacted and cemented together (such as sandstone, limestone and shale): sedimentary rock or igneous rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
2. What is the dark, nutrient-rich organic material in topsoil formed from decomposed leaves, roots and animal remains: humus or magma?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
3. Why does intrusive igneous rock like granite have large, visible mineral crystals, whereas extrusive basalt has tiny crystals: granite cooled slowly deep underground, giving crystals time to grow, or granite is made of sand?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
4. When fine-grained mudstone or shale is compressed by mountain-building forces, what metamorphic rock does it form that splits into flat, waterproof sheets used for roofing: slate or chalk?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
5. What do we call a rock that has tiny connected pores or spaces that allow water to soak and pass through it (such as sandstone or chalk): a permeable (porous) rock or an impermeable rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
6. What is soil made of: a mixture of weathered rock particles (sand, silt, clay), decaying organic matter (humus), water, air and living organisms, or pure crushed glass?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
7. Which soil type has microscopic particles that pack tightly together, holding water and feeling sticky when wet: clay soil or sandy soil?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
8. When water seeps into a crack in a rock, freezes into ice overnight and expands by about 9%, wedging the rock apart, what type of physical weathering is this: freeze-thaw (frost wedging) or photosynthesis?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
9. What do gardeners call an ideal balanced soil that mixes sand, silt, clay and humus so it holds moisture and nutrients while still draining well: loam or gravel?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
10. Which rock group forms when existing rocks are changed by intense heat and pressure deep underground without completely melting (such as marble from limestone, or slate from shale): metamorphic rock or sedimentary rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
11. Which soil type has large, gritty particles with big air spaces so water drains through it very quickly: sandy soil or clay soil?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
12. Which of the three main rock groups forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies (such as granite and basalt): igneous rock or sedimentary rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
12 questions · Seed 50 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
View the answer key
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. Which rock group forms over millions of years when layers of sand, mud, pebbles or shells are compacted and cemented together (such as sandstone, limestone and shale): sedimentary rock or igneous rock?
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks form in layers (strata) from deposited and lithified sediments.
2. What is the dark, nutrient-rich organic material in topsoil formed from decomposed leaves, roots and animal remains: humus or magma?
Humus
Humus retains moisture and supplies essential mineral nutrients to growing plant roots.
3. Why does intrusive igneous rock like granite have large, visible mineral crystals, whereas extrusive basalt has tiny crystals: granite cooled slowly deep underground, giving crystals time to grow, or granite is made of sand?
Granite cooled slowly deep underground, giving crystals time to grow
Slow cooling of magma underground allows large interlocking crystals to form; lava on the surface cools rapidly into tiny crystals.
4. When fine-grained mudstone or shale is compressed by mountain-building forces, what metamorphic rock does it form that splits into flat, waterproof sheets used for roofing: slate or chalk?
Slate
Slate is a foliated, impermeable metamorphic rock that cleaves into flat tiles.
5. What do we call a rock that has tiny connected pores or spaces that allow water to soak and pass through it (such as sandstone or chalk): a permeable (porous) rock or an impermeable rock?
Permeable (porous) rock
Permeable rocks have interconnected pore spaces or fractures that let water percolate through.
6. What is soil made of: a mixture of weathered rock particles (sand, silt, clay), decaying organic matter (humus), water, air and living organisms, or pure crushed glass?
A mixture of weathered rock particles (sand, silt, clay), decaying organic matter (humus), water, air and living organisms
Healthy soil combines mineral particles from weathered rock with organic humus, air spaces and water.
7. Which soil type has microscopic particles that pack tightly together, holding water and feeling sticky when wet: clay soil or sandy soil?
Clay soil
Tiny clay particles have tiny pores that trap water and become sticky when wet and hard when baked dry.
8. When water seeps into a crack in a rock, freezes into ice overnight and expands by about 9%, wedging the rock apart, what type of physical weathering is this: freeze-thaw (frost wedging) or photosynthesis?
Freeze-thaw (frost wedging)
Water expands as it freezes, exerting strong pressure that widens rock cracks over repeated cycles.
9. What do gardeners call an ideal balanced soil that mixes sand, silt, clay and humus so it holds moisture and nutrients while still draining well: loam or gravel?
Loam
Loamy soil combines the good drainage of sand with the moisture and nutrient retention of silt, clay and humus.
10. Which rock group forms when existing rocks are changed by intense heat and pressure deep underground without completely melting (such as marble from limestone, or slate from shale): metamorphic rock or sedimentary rock?
Metamorphic rock
“Metamorphic” means changed in form; heat and pressure recrystallise minerals into a denser rock.
11. Which soil type has large, gritty particles with big air spaces so water drains through it very quickly: sandy soil or clay soil?
Sandy soil
Sand grains are relatively large, creating wide pore spaces that drain water rapidly.
12. Which of the three main rock groups forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies (such as granite and basalt): igneous rock or sedimentary rock?
Igneous rock
Igneous rocks crystallise from molten rock either underground (magma) or on the surface (lava).
12 questions · Seed 50 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. Which rock group forms over millions of years when layers of sand, mud, pebbles or shells are compacted and cemented together (such as sandstone, limestone and shale): sedimentary rock or igneous rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
2. What is the dark, nutrient-rich organic material in topsoil formed from decomposed leaves, roots and animal remains: humus or magma?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
3. Why does intrusive igneous rock like granite have large, visible mineral crystals, whereas extrusive basalt has tiny crystals: granite cooled slowly deep underground, giving crystals time to grow, or granite is made of sand?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
4. When fine-grained mudstone or shale is compressed by mountain-building forces, what metamorphic rock does it form that splits into flat, waterproof sheets used for roofing: slate or chalk?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
5. What do we call a rock that has tiny connected pores or spaces that allow water to soak and pass through it (such as sandstone or chalk): a permeable (porous) rock or an impermeable rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
6. What is soil made of: a mixture of weathered rock particles (sand, silt, clay), decaying organic matter (humus), water, air and living organisms, or pure crushed glass?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
7. Which soil type has microscopic particles that pack tightly together, holding water and feeling sticky when wet: clay soil or sandy soil?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
8. When water seeps into a crack in a rock, freezes into ice overnight and expands by about 9%, wedging the rock apart, what type of physical weathering is this: freeze-thaw (frost wedging) or photosynthesis?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
9. What do gardeners call an ideal balanced soil that mixes sand, silt, clay and humus so it holds moisture and nutrients while still draining well: loam or gravel?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
10. Which rock group forms when existing rocks are changed by intense heat and pressure deep underground without completely melting (such as marble from limestone, or slate from shale): metamorphic rock or sedimentary rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
11. Which soil type has large, gritty particles with big air spaces so water drains through it very quickly: sandy soil or clay soil?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
12. Which of the three main rock groups forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies (such as granite and basalt): igneous rock or sedimentary rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
12 questions · Seed 50 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. Which rock group forms over millions of years when layers of sand, mud, pebbles or shells are compacted and cemented together (such as sandstone, limestone and shale): sedimentary rock or igneous rock?
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks form in layers (strata) from deposited and lithified sediments.
2. What is the dark, nutrient-rich organic material in topsoil formed from decomposed leaves, roots and animal remains: humus or magma?
Humus
Humus retains moisture and supplies essential mineral nutrients to growing plant roots.
3. Why does intrusive igneous rock like granite have large, visible mineral crystals, whereas extrusive basalt has tiny crystals: granite cooled slowly deep underground, giving crystals time to grow, or granite is made of sand?
Granite cooled slowly deep underground, giving crystals time to grow
Slow cooling of magma underground allows large interlocking crystals to form; lava on the surface cools rapidly into tiny crystals.
4. When fine-grained mudstone or shale is compressed by mountain-building forces, what metamorphic rock does it form that splits into flat, waterproof sheets used for roofing: slate or chalk?
Slate
Slate is a foliated, impermeable metamorphic rock that cleaves into flat tiles.
5. What do we call a rock that has tiny connected pores or spaces that allow water to soak and pass through it (such as sandstone or chalk): a permeable (porous) rock or an impermeable rock?
Permeable (porous) rock
Permeable rocks have interconnected pore spaces or fractures that let water percolate through.
6. What is soil made of: a mixture of weathered rock particles (sand, silt, clay), decaying organic matter (humus), water, air and living organisms, or pure crushed glass?
A mixture of weathered rock particles (sand, silt, clay), decaying organic matter (humus), water, air and living organisms
Healthy soil combines mineral particles from weathered rock with organic humus, air spaces and water.
7. Which soil type has microscopic particles that pack tightly together, holding water and feeling sticky when wet: clay soil or sandy soil?
Clay soil
Tiny clay particles have tiny pores that trap water and become sticky when wet and hard when baked dry.
8. When water seeps into a crack in a rock, freezes into ice overnight and expands by about 9%, wedging the rock apart, what type of physical weathering is this: freeze-thaw (frost wedging) or photosynthesis?
Freeze-thaw (frost wedging)
Water expands as it freezes, exerting strong pressure that widens rock cracks over repeated cycles.
9. What do gardeners call an ideal balanced soil that mixes sand, silt, clay and humus so it holds moisture and nutrients while still draining well: loam or gravel?
Loam
Loamy soil combines the good drainage of sand with the moisture and nutrient retention of silt, clay and humus.
10. Which rock group forms when existing rocks are changed by intense heat and pressure deep underground without completely melting (such as marble from limestone, or slate from shale): metamorphic rock or sedimentary rock?
Metamorphic rock
“Metamorphic” means changed in form; heat and pressure recrystallise minerals into a denser rock.
11. Which soil type has large, gritty particles with big air spaces so water drains through it very quickly: sandy soil or clay soil?
Sandy soil
Sand grains are relatively large, creating wide pore spaces that drain water rapidly.
12. Which of the three main rock groups forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies (such as granite and basalt): igneous rock or sedimentary rock?
Igneous rock
Igneous rocks crystallise from molten rock either underground (magma) or on the surface (lava).
12 questions · Seed 50 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification