WorksheetPremium

The Mystery Rock Box: Solve It with Sources

Fifth graders use a mineral chart, a how-to web page, a glossary and test notes to find answers fast and identify four mystery minerals.

Grade 5ELAInteractive · Printable

Aligned toRI.5.7

Buy this worksheet: $1.50

Or unlock every Premium worksheet with Premium

PrintUnlock to print

Answer keyUnlock to see answers

Assign to classUnlock to assign with a class code

What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 Common Core standard
Printable answer key
11 questions
Classroom-ready

Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 5
Subject: ELA
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students choose which of several sources answers a question fastest.
Students combine details from a chart, a web page and notes to solve a problem.
Students explain why one problem can need more than one source.

How to use

Have students skim all four sources first and say what kind of information each one holds. Then let them solve the questions, asking which source they checked first and why.

Curriculum

Common Core standard covered

RI.5.7

Draw on several print or digital sources to quickly locate an answer to a question or efficiently solve a problem.

Preview

OwlSheets.com

Name Date

The Mystery Rock Box: Solve It with Sources

Use a chart, a web page, a glossary, and test notes to name four minerals.

Read the sources

Ravi's grandmother gave him an old box of four minerals. The labels had fallen off long ago. Only one note was left. It was taped to Sample B, and it said "Gold?" in her handwriting. Ravi tested each sample and wrote down what he found. Then he used a field guide and a web page to figure out what the samples are. Read all four sources, including his notes. Then answer the questions.

Source 1: Mineral Chart from A Young Geologist's Field Guide

Hardness tells how easily a mineral can be scratched. Compare a mystery mineral with each row of the chart.

Talc — color: white, gray, or pale green; streak: white; hardness: soft; clue: feels soapy

Gypsum — color: clear or white; streak: white; hardness: soft; clue: does not feel soapy

Calcite — color: often white or clear; streak: white; hardness: medium; clue: tiny bubbles form in vinegar

Fluorite — color: often purple or green; streak: white; hardness: medium; clue: no bubbles form in vinegar

Quartz — color: clear, white, pink, or purple; streak: white; hardness: hard; clue: can scratch glass

Pyrite — color: brassy yellow; streak: greenish black; hardness: hard; clue: often forms cube-shaped crystals

Source 2: Web Page "How to Test a Mineral" from the Hilltop Science Center

1Geologists use simple tests to identify minerals. Color is the easiest clue to see, but it can fool you, because one kind of mineral can come in many colors. Do more than one test before you decide.

2To do a streak test, rub the mineral across the back of a white tile that has no shiny coating. The color of the powder left on the tile is the mineral's streak. A mineral's streak is usually the same every time, even when the mineral itself comes in different colors. For example, real gold leaves a yellow streak, but pyrite, which is often called fool's gold, leaves a greenish-black streak.

3To do a scratch test, first try to scratch the mineral with your fingernail. If your fingernail leaves a mark, the mineral is soft. If it does not, ask an adult to help you try a steel nail. If the nail leaves a mark, the mineral has medium hardness. If neither one leaves a mark, the mineral is hard.

4To do a vinegar test, place one drop of vinegar on the mineral and look closely with a magnifying glass. Tiny bubbles are a sign that the mineral is calcite or contains calcite.

The preview shows the first questions. Unlock the worksheet to see all of it.