Grade 4 · Science · Unit 8 of 9
Rocks & Minerals
Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock
What your child practises
How igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form, the rock cycle, and testing minerals for hardness, streak and lustre. Many Ontario rocks, like those of the Canadian Shield, are igneous and metamorphic.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: E2.1–E2.3 · the three kinds of rock and how they form, rock and mineral properties, and sorting by tests
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Much of the Canadian Shield in northern Ontario is made of…
🪨- ice
- very old igneous and metamorphic rock
- new sedimentary mud
- sand dunes
Show answer
very old igneous and metamorphic rock
Hint: The Shield has some of the oldest rock on Earth.
Question 2
Which type of rock is it? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: 🌋 igneous · 🏖️ sedimentary · 🔥 metamorphic
- 📝slate
- 🫧pumice
- 💎quartzite
- 🐚limestone
- 🪨conglomerate
- ⚫obsidian
Show answer
🌋 igneous: pumice, obsidian · 🏖️ sedimentary: limestone, conglomerate · 🔥 metamorphic: slate, quartzite
Hint: Igneous rock forms from cooled melted rock. Sedimentary rock forms from layers pressed together. Metamorphic rock is changed by heat and pressure.
Question 3
Metamorphic rocks form when…
🔥- heat and pressure change an existing rock
- lava cools
- sand settles in water
- fossils form
Show answer
heat and pressure change an existing rock
Hint: Metamorphic means 'changed form'.
Question 4
Marble starts as limestone. What changes it?
🏛️- wind
- rain
- heat and pressure deep in the Earth
- a flood
Show answer
heat and pressure deep in the Earth
Hint: It becomes metamorphic rock.
Question 5
Put the steps of making sedimentary rock in order.
- 🌊wind and water carry the pieces away (erosion)
- 🪨layers are pressed and cemented into rock
- 🏞️pieces settle in layers at the bottom of a lake or sea
- 🔨rocks are broken into pieces (weathering)
Show answer
rocks are broken into pieces (weathering) → wind and water carry the pieces away (erosion) → pieces settle in layers at the bottom of a lake or sea → layers are pressed and cemented into rock
Hint: Rock is weathered, then carried away, dropped in layers, and finally pressed and cemented into rock.
Question 6
The softest mineral, talc, can be scratched by…
💅- water
- a fingernail
- a feather
- nothing at all
Show answer
a fingernail
Hint: A fingernail can scratch minerals that are soft.