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. When limestone is subjected to high heat and pressure inside Earth’s crust, what hard, crystalline metamorphic rock does it turn into (often used for statues and tiles): marble or sandstone?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. What do we call a rock that does NOT allow water to pass through it because its crystals interlock tightly without gaps (such as granite or slate): an impermeable rock or a permeable rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
7. 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
8. Which lightweight volcanic igneous rock is so full of trapped gas bubbles that it can float on water: pumice or marble?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
9. Which sedimentary rock is formed mainly from the calcium carbonate shells and skeletons of marine organisms and coral: limestone (and chalk) or granite?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
10. What is the solid, unweathered layer of rock that lies beneath the subsoil at the bottom of a soil profile: bedrock or topsoil?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
11. What are fossils: the preserved remains, shells, bones or impressions of ancient living things turned to stone over millions of years, or modern plastic models?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
12. 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
12 questions · Seed 53 · 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. When limestone is subjected to high heat and pressure inside Earth’s crust, what hard, crystalline metamorphic rock does it turn into (often used for statues and tiles): marble or sandstone?
Marble
Marble is metamorphosed limestone.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. What do we call a rock that does NOT allow water to pass through it because its crystals interlock tightly without gaps (such as granite or slate): an impermeable rock or a permeable rock?
Impermeable rock
Impermeable rocks block water from soaking through, making slate ideal for roof tiles.
7. 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.
8. Which lightweight volcanic igneous rock is so full of trapped gas bubbles that it can float on water: pumice or marble?
Pumice
Pumice forms from frothy lava rich in gas bubbles, giving it a density lower than water.
9. Which sedimentary rock is formed mainly from the calcium carbonate shells and skeletons of marine organisms and coral: limestone (and chalk) or granite?
Limestone (and chalk)
Limestone is a carbonate sedimentary rock built from ancient marine shells and coral reefs.
10. What is the solid, unweathered layer of rock that lies beneath the subsoil at the bottom of a soil profile: bedrock or topsoil?
Bedrock
Bedrock is the parent solid rock beneath loose soil and weathered regolith.
11. What are fossils: the preserved remains, shells, bones or impressions of ancient living things turned to stone over millions of years, or modern plastic models?
The preserved remains, shells, bones or impressions of ancient living things turned to stone over millions of years
Fossils provide direct evidence of how organisms and environments have changed over geological time.
12. 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.
12 questions · Seed 53 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. When limestone is subjected to high heat and pressure inside Earth’s crust, what hard, crystalline metamorphic rock does it turn into (often used for statues and tiles): marble or sandstone?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. What do we call a rock that does NOT allow water to pass through it because its crystals interlock tightly without gaps (such as granite or slate): an impermeable rock or a permeable rock?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
7. 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
8. Which lightweight volcanic igneous rock is so full of trapped gas bubbles that it can float on water: pumice or marble?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
9. Which sedimentary rock is formed mainly from the calcium carbonate shells and skeletons of marine organisms and coral: limestone (and chalk) or granite?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
10. What is the solid, unweathered layer of rock that lies beneath the subsoil at the bottom of a soil profile: bedrock or topsoil?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
11. What are fossils: the preserved remains, shells, bones or impressions of ancient living things turned to stone over millions of years, or modern plastic models?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
12. 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
12 questions · Seed 53 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. When limestone is subjected to high heat and pressure inside Earth’s crust, what hard, crystalline metamorphic rock does it turn into (often used for statues and tiles): marble or sandstone?
Marble
Marble is metamorphosed limestone.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. What do we call a rock that does NOT allow water to pass through it because its crystals interlock tightly without gaps (such as granite or slate): an impermeable rock or a permeable rock?
Impermeable rock
Impermeable rocks block water from soaking through, making slate ideal for roof tiles.
7. 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.
8. Which lightweight volcanic igneous rock is so full of trapped gas bubbles that it can float on water: pumice or marble?
Pumice
Pumice forms from frothy lava rich in gas bubbles, giving it a density lower than water.
9. Which sedimentary rock is formed mainly from the calcium carbonate shells and skeletons of marine organisms and coral: limestone (and chalk) or granite?
Limestone (and chalk)
Limestone is a carbonate sedimentary rock built from ancient marine shells and coral reefs.
10. What is the solid, unweathered layer of rock that lies beneath the subsoil at the bottom of a soil profile: bedrock or topsoil?
Bedrock
Bedrock is the parent solid rock beneath loose soil and weathered regolith.
11. What are fossils: the preserved remains, shells, bones or impressions of ancient living things turned to stone over millions of years, or modern plastic models?
The preserved remains, shells, bones or impressions of ancient living things turned to stone over millions of years
Fossils provide direct evidence of how organisms and environments have changed over geological time.
12. 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.
12 questions · Seed 53 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification