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3rd Grade Earth Science Assessment

POST-TEST
Multiple Choice

Enter Student Test Number (9-Digit Number) assigned by district and reported to the Indiana Department of Education

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(Fields are not required but recommended if schools would like to use data for internal assessment reporting.)

School Name

Teacher Last Name

1. A student found a pretty stone in the park near her home. She wasn't sure if it was a rock or a mineral, so she took it home to try some tests.

Which of her observations would convince someone that the pretty stone from the park is a rock, not a mineral?

It is about the size of my fist.
When I put a few drops of acid on the cement part, it fizzes.
I can scratch the black pieces with a paper clip.
It has several colors and smooth, round pieces stuck in it.

2. Which word best describes an observation you could make about the size of a rock?

Location
Diameter
Depth
Hardness

3. Which of these is a good way to tell the hardness of a material?

Write on it with a pencil.
Hit it with a hammer.
Scrape it with a nail.
Squeeze it with your hands.

4. A mixture of different minerals is called

A rock
The earth
Calcite
A solution

5. Which of these is NOT a good way to learn about rocks?

Dropping acid on a rock to learn what is in the rock.
Dropping a rock from a high place to learn how hard the rock is.
Looking at a rock with a hand lens to learn what is in the rock.
Scratching a rock with a knife to learn how hard the rock is.

6. What would be a good use for a very hard material like quartz?

Carve your initials into it.
Use it to write on chalkboards.
Make baby-powder or skin-care powder.
Make it into a piece of jewelry.

7. Which describes the property of hardness for a mineral?

It is about 10 grams.
It is about greenish blue.
A paper clip scratches it.
It has a rough surface.

8. Scientist Garcia completed a chart showing the scratch-test results of three minerals. He wrote "yes" if the scratching tool did scratch the mineral and "no" if it did not scratch it. His results are shown in the table below. As a reminder; a knife is harder than a penny, and a penny is harder than a fingernail.

Based on his results, which is the order of hardness of the three minerals? (The hardest mineral is listed first, followed by the next hardest and the least hardest)

Talc, calcite, apatite
Calcite, apatite, talc
Apatite, talc, calcite
Apatite, calcite, talc

9. What would happen if you put sand in a solution of vinegar and water?

The sand would bubble, if it is a mineral.
The sand would change color.
The sand would not float.
Nothing would happen unless the sand contained calcite.

10. How does evaporation help you study mock rocks?

Evaporation changes the color of the rock, so its parts are easier to see.
Evaporation helps separate the parts of a rock.
Evaporation helps gives better a better idea of the weight of the rock.
Evaporation helps you scratch a mineral with a paper clip.