1. Name: ______________________________
PASS OBJECTIVE 5. Earth/ Space Science Notes
Objective 1: Earth has four main systems that interact: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, and
the geosphere.
Composition of the Earth
Earth has four main systems that interact
Earth’s
systems
Atmosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere Geosphere
air water life
The Biosphere includes
• The solid earth (rock)
• Continental earth, and solid earth (continental crust) under water and the oceans (oceanic crust)
1. What are rocks made of? ______________
2. Minerals are not made by people, they are naturally occurring substances.
3. Name four properties (or clues) that scientists use to identify minerals. ________________________
a. The color of a rock can be a clue to what it is made up of. Sometimes the color can help you
figure out what it is, other times it can fool you.
i. Sometimes the color can help you figure out what it is, other times it can fool you.
b. Which property means the way the light bounces off the mineral? ______________________
i. What are some words that can describe the luster? _____________________________
c. Streak is the color of the powdered mineral
d. Hardness is how tightly the atoms are bonded together in the rock…. How HARD or soft is
the mineral?
TYPES OF ROCKS
Classified by how they
Are formed.
IGNEOUS ROCKS SEDIMENTARY
METAMORPHIC
(melted rock from (sediment collects in
(rocks form from
inside Layers that form
Pressure and temp)
The Earth cools) rocks)
EXTRUSIVE INTRUSIVE
Melted rock cools Magma forced up but
Melted rock that Doesn’t reach surface
reaches Magma—melted rock
Geosphere Notes pg.1

2. Igneous Rocks --Any rock that forms from magma or lava
1. Lava—reaches Earth’s surface
2. Magma--Never reaches Earth’s surface
Igneous Rocks are classified according to where they are found.
1. Extrusive rock— formed from lava that erupted onto the Earth’s surface. Fine grained. (ex. Basalt)
• Extrusive Rocks Form 2 ways
a. Volcanoes erupt and shoot out lava and ash.
b. Large cracks in Earth’s crust (fissures), can open up. Lava oozes out onto ground or into
water.
2. Intrusive rock— formed when magma hardens beneath the Earth’s surface. Coarse grained. (ex.
Granite)
Sedimentary Rock-- Form from particles deposited by water and wind.
1. Sediment—small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or living things.
2. Water, wind, and ice can carry sediment and deposit it in layers.
3. Examples of sediment ________________________________________________________
Sedimentary Rocks form in 3 ways:
• Detrital (clastic) Rocks--Made up of grains of minerals or other rocks. The weight of the
sediments squeezes them into layers.
• Organic rocks— formed from fossils (the hard parts of dead organisms like bones/ shells
• Chemical Rocks--Seawater filled with minerals evaporates. As water evaporates, layers of
minerals are left behind.
Weathering--The breaking down and wearing away of rocks.
Erosion--The movement of sediments from one place to another.
Give Examples how erosion might happen. ____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Deposition
 The process by which sediment settles out of the water or wind carrying it.
 The eroding water or wind slows and deposits the sediment.
 If carried by water, rock fragments and other materials sink to the bottom of a lake or ocean.
Compaction
Its been moved away and now dropped.
 Heavy thick layers of sediment build up
 The weight presses down on the layers
 Compaction—process that presses sediments together.
 Each year, new sediments fall creating new layers.
 The layers are often visible
Geosphere Notes pg.2

3. Cementation
 The process in which dissolved minerals crystallize and glue particles of sediment together.
 Where loose sediments become solid sedimentary rock
 Minerals dissolve in water and then seep into spaces between sediment.
Review:
Processes that change sediment into sedimentary rock
1. Erosion
2. Deposition
3. Compaction
4. Cementation
Metamorphic Rock--Heat and pressure deep in the Earth can change any rock into a metamorphic
rock.
 Heat from mantle
 Pressure due to depth. Minerals can change into other minerals.
Classifying Metamorphic Rock:
 Arranged by the grains that make up the rocks.
 Foliated—grains arranged in parallel layers/ bands (slate, schist, gneiss)
 Nonfoliated—Mineral grains are arranged randomly (marble and quartzite)
THE ROCK CYCLE
 A series of processes on Earth’s surface and inside the planet that slowly change rocks from one kind
into another.
Rock Cycle Song
(Sing to the tune of
"Row, Row, Row Your Boat")
SEDIMENTARY rock
Has been formed in layers
Often found near water sources
With fossils from decayers
Then there's IGNEOUS rock
Here since Earth was born
Molten Lava, cooled and hardened
That's how it is formed
These two types of rocks
Can also be transformed
With pressure, heat and chemicals
METAMORPHIC they'll become.
Geosphere Notes pg.3