Grade 6 Science Vocabulary
Rocks, Minerals & Soil
How minerals are identified, how the three rock types form, what soil is made of, and how people use these resources.
Ohio science standards in this unit
- 6.ESS.1 · MineralsMinerals have specific, quantifiable properties.
- 6.ESS.2 · Types of rockIgneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks have unique characteristics that can be used for identification and/or classification.
- 6.ESS.3 · How rocks formIgneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks form in different ways.
- 6.ESS.4 · SoilSoil is unconsolidated material that contains nutrient matter and weathered rock.
- 6.ESS.5 · Using Earth’s resourcesRocks, minerals and soils have common and practical uses.
Definitions are written in plain language to support WIDA's Standard 4 (Science) English Language Development standard.
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Study guide
Minerals (6.ESS.1)
- mineral
- A natural, nonliving solid with a crystal structure and a set chemical makeup.
- inorganic
- Not made by living things and not made of living material.
- crystal
- A solid whose particles line up in a repeating pattern.
- physical properties
- Traits you can observe or measure without changing what a substance is, like color or hardness.
- properties
- Traits that describe a material and help you tell it apart from others.
- luster
- How a mineral reflects light — for example shiny like metal, glassy, or dull.
- hardness
- How easily a mineral can be scratched.
- Mohs hardness scale
- A 1-to-10 scale that ranks minerals by which ones can scratch others. Talc is 1; diamond is 10.
- cleavage
- The way some minerals break along flat, smooth surfaces.
- streak
- The color of a mineral’s powder when you rub it on a rough white tile.
- streak test
- Rubbing a mineral on a white tile to see the color of its powder.
- magnetism
- A property that lets some minerals pull on iron or stick to a magnet.
- fluorescence
- Glowing in a visible color when ultraviolet (UV) light shines on it.
- crystal shape
- The outside form a mineral grows into, such as cubes or six-sided columns.
- rock
- A solid, natural material made of one or more minerals.
- halite
- A soft mineral that forms cube-shaped crystals. It is table salt.
- gypsum
- A very soft mineral (hardness 2) used to make drywall and plaster.
- calcite
- A common mineral that fizzes in weak acid. It makes up limestone and marble.
- feldspar
- The most common group of minerals in Earth’s crust, often pink or white.
- magnetite
- A black, iron-rich mineral that is attracted to a magnet.
- quartz
- A hard (hardness 7), glassy mineral found in sand and many rocks.
- igneous
- Formed when hot, melted rock cools and hardens.
- epidote
- A green mineral that often forms when rocks are changed by heat and pressure.
- metamorphic
- Changed in form by heat and pressure deep underground.
Types of rock (6.ESS.2)
- organic
- Made by living things or from their remains.
- coal
- A black rock that burns. It forms from plant remains buried and pressed for millions of years.
- igneous rock
- Rock that forms when magma or lava cools and hardens.
- granite
- A light-colored igneous rock with large crystals you can see. It cooled slowly underground.
- rhyolite
- A light-colored igneous rock with tiny crystals. It cooled quickly from lava.
- basalt
- A dark igneous rock with tiny crystals. It forms from lava and makes up most ocean floor.
- obsidian
- A black, glassy igneous rock. Lava cooled so fast that no crystals formed.
- pumice
- A light igneous rock full of air holes. It can float on water.
- andesite
- A gray igneous rock that forms from lava at volcanoes near plate boundaries.
- metamorphic rock
- Rock that has been changed by heat and pressure without melting.
- schist
- A metamorphic rock with shiny, flaky layers of mica.
- gneiss
- A metamorphic rock with light and dark bands. Say it like “nice.”
- slate
- A metamorphic rock that splits into flat, thin sheets. It forms from shale.
- marble
- A metamorphic rock that forms from limestone. It is used for statues and buildings.
- anthracite
- The hardest type of coal. It forms when other coal is changed by heat and pressure.
- phyllite
- A metamorphic rock with a silky shine, between slate and schist.
- sedimentary rock
- Rock made of layers of sediment that were pressed and cemented together.
- limestone
- A sedimentary rock made mostly of calcite, often from shells of sea animals.
- sandstone
- A sedimentary rock made of sand grains cemented together.
- shale
- A sedimentary rock made of mud and clay pressed into thin layers.
- conglomerate
- A sedimentary rock made of rounded pebbles cemented together.
- breccia
- A sedimentary rock made of sharp, broken rock pieces cemented together.
- clastic
- Made of broken pieces of older rock.
- bituminous coal
- A soft, black coal that is the most common kind burned for energy.
- coquina
- A sedimentary rock made of broken shells loosely cemented together.
- quantifiable
- Able to be measured with a number.
- environment
- Everything around a living thing, including air, water, land, and other organisms.
How rocks form (6.ESS.3)
- magma
- Melted rock below Earth’s surface.
- lava
- Melted rock that has come out onto Earth’s surface.
- pressure
- A pushing force spread over an area.
- weathering
- The breaking down of rock into smaller pieces by water, ice, wind, plants, or chemicals.
- erosion
- The moving of rock and soil from one place to another by water, wind, ice, or gravity.
- deposition
- The dropping of sediment in a new place after it has been moved.
- compression
- Squeezing something so it takes up less space.
- lithification
- The process that turns loose sediment into solid rock by pressing and cementing it.
- rock cycle
- The slow, never-ending process in which rocks change from one type to another.
- igneous intrusion
- A body of magma that pushes into other rock and hardens underground.
- extrusive rock
- Igneous rock that forms from lava cooling on Earth’s surface.
- uplift
- The raising of land to a higher level by forces inside Earth.
- coal formation
- How plant remains are buried, pressed, and heated over millions of years to become coal.
- geologic history
- The story of the events that formed and changed rocks in an area over time.
- relative age
- Whether a rock or event is older or younger than another, without an exact number of years.
- bedrock
- The solid rock that lies under soil and loose material.
- geologic map
- A map that shows the types and ages of rocks at the surface of an area.
- topographic map
- A map that uses lines to show the shape and height of the land.
Soil (6.ESS.4)
- soil horizon
- One layer of soil that is different in color and makeup from the layers above and below.
- O horizon
- The top soil layer, made of fallen leaves and other decaying plant and animal matter.
- A horizon
- Topsoil: a dark layer with humus, minerals, and many plant roots.
- E horizon
- A light-colored layer where water has washed minerals down and away.
- B horizon
- Subsoil: a layer where clay and minerals washed from above collect.
- C horizon
- A layer of broken pieces of the rock underneath, with little organic matter.
- R horizon
- The bottom layer: solid bedrock.
- leaching
- When water moving down through soil carries dissolved minerals with it.
- eluviation
- When water carries fine particles like clay from an upper soil layer to a lower one.
- permeable
- Letting water or air pass through.
- porous
- Full of tiny holes or open spaces.
- aerial map
- A map made from photos taken from high above the ground.
- soil map
- A map that shows the different types of soil in an area.
- dirt
- An everyday word for soil, especially soil that is out of place, like on your shoes.
Using Earth’s resources (6.ESS.5)
- nonrenewable energy resources
- Energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas that take millions of years to form and can run out.
- geologic resources
- Useful materials from Earth, such as rocks, minerals, soil, and fuels.
- extraction
- Taking a resource out of the ground, for example by mining or drilling.
- disposal
- Getting rid of waste materials.
- construction
- Building things like roads, houses, and bridges.
- energy
- The ability to do work or cause change.
- transportation
- Moving people or goods from one place to another.
- agriculture
- Farming: growing crops and raising animals.
- domestic
- Having to do with the home.
- technology
- Tools and machines people make to solve problems.
Warm-up words to review
Words from earlier grades that help with this unit.
- soil
- The loose top layer of the ground, made of broken rock, water, air, and remains of living things.
- matter
- Anything that has mass and takes up space.
- electrical conductivity
- How well a material lets electricity flow through it.
- renewable resources
- Resources that nature replaces quickly, such as sunlight, wind, and trees.
- nonrenewable resources
- Resources that nature replaces very slowly or not at all, such as oil and coal.