Unit C

Chapter One

Minerals, Rocks, and Fossils


mineral
solid natural object that has never been alive
rock
solid material made of one or more minerals
crust
Earth’s solid outer layer
mantle
Earth’s middle layer
igneous rock
rock that was once melted but has cooled and hardened
sedimentary rock
materials that settle into layers and harden
meamorphic rock
rock that has been changed by heat and pressure
rock cycle a process of changing rock types
fossil
marks or remains of a once-living thing