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. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. What is the difference between “weathering” and “erosion” of rocks: weathering is the breakdown of rock in place, whereas erosion is the wearing away and transport of rock fragments by water, wind or ice, or they mean melting?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
6. 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
7. 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
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. How do earthworms help keep garden and farm soil healthy for plants: their burrows let air and rainwater reach roots, and their castings enrich the soil with nutrients, or they eat rocks into lava?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
10. Why do pebbles on a beach or riverbed become smooth and rounded over time: waves and currents tumble the stones against each other, wearing off sharp corners by attrition and abrasion, or people polish every stone?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
11. 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
12. 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
12 questions · Seed 61 · 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. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. What is the difference between “weathering” and “erosion” of rocks: weathering is the breakdown of rock in place, whereas erosion is the wearing away and transport of rock fragments by water, wind or ice, or they mean melting?
Weathering is the breakdown of rock in place, whereas erosion is the wearing away and transport of rock fragments by water, wind or ice
Weathering breaks rock down in situ; erosion moves the loosened sediment away.
6. 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.
7. 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.
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. How do earthworms help keep garden and farm soil healthy for plants: their burrows let air and rainwater reach roots, and their castings enrich the soil with nutrients, or they eat rocks into lava?
Their burrows let air and rainwater reach roots, and their castings enrich the soil with nutrients
Earthworms aerate the soil, improve drainage and recycle organic matter into plant nutrients.
10. Why do pebbles on a beach or riverbed become smooth and rounded over time: waves and currents tumble the stones against each other, wearing off sharp corners by attrition and abrasion, or people polish every stone?
Waves and currents tumble the stones against each other, wearing off sharp corners by attrition and abrasion
Moving water knocks rock fragments together (attrition), rounding sharp edges into smooth pebbles and sand.
11. 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.
12. 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.
12 questions · Seed 61 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Take your time. Show your thinking.
1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. What is the difference between “weathering” and “erosion” of rocks: weathering is the breakdown of rock in place, whereas erosion is the wearing away and transport of rock fragments by water, wind or ice, or they mean melting?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
6. 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
7. 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
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. How do earthworms help keep garden and farm soil healthy for plants: their burrows let air and rainwater reach roots, and their castings enrich the soil with nutrients, or they eat rocks into lava?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
10. Why do pebbles on a beach or riverbed become smooth and rounded over time: waves and currents tumble the stones against each other, wearing off sharp corners by attrition and abrasion, or people polish every stone?
Topsoil → Subsoil → Bedrock
11. 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
12. 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
12 questions · Seed 61 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification
Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9
Rocks, fossils & soil layers
Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. What is the difference between “weathering” and “erosion” of rocks: weathering is the breakdown of rock in place, whereas erosion is the wearing away and transport of rock fragments by water, wind or ice, or they mean melting?
Weathering is the breakdown of rock in place, whereas erosion is the wearing away and transport of rock fragments by water, wind or ice
Weathering breaks rock down in situ; erosion moves the loosened sediment away.
6. 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.
7. 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.
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. How do earthworms help keep garden and farm soil healthy for plants: their burrows let air and rainwater reach roots, and their castings enrich the soil with nutrients, or they eat rocks into lava?
Their burrows let air and rainwater reach roots, and their castings enrich the soil with nutrients
Earthworms aerate the soil, improve drainage and recycle organic matter into plant nutrients.
10. Why do pebbles on a beach or riverbed become smooth and rounded over time: waves and currents tumble the stones against each other, wearing off sharp corners by attrition and abrasion, or people polish every stone?
Waves and currents tumble the stones against each other, wearing off sharp corners by attrition and abrasion
Moving water knocks rock fragments together (attrition), rounding sharp edges into smooth pebbles and sand.
11. 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.
12. 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.
12 questions · Seed 61 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification