Geology Trivia

1. The molten rock that sits below the earth's surface is called what?

From Quiz Taken for Granite

Answer: Magma

Magma is generally formed via the partial melting of the Earth's crust and the upper mantle (athenosphere). The temperature range of magma is 700 - 1300 degrees Celsius, depending on its composition. Mafic magmas (high iron and magnesium) have a much higher temperature than felsic magmas (high silica).

From Quiz Crazy Crystal Structures

Answer: 14

Yes there are 14 different space lattices (organized in seven systems) that could be formed. A space lattice is a small primitive cell that can be repeated potentially an infinite amount of times to form the macro crystal structure. In a space lattice there are three dimensions and four angles to be considered. Each space lattice will have three corners. See if you can guess all the possible combinations.

From Quiz Cubic Zirconia Is A Girl's Best Friend

Answer: 8-8.5

This means that a CZ has a greater hardness than most semi-precious natural gems. On the Mohs scale, corundum ranks 9 and diamond ranks 10.

From Quiz Random Ramblings of a Rockhound

Answer: Granite

Rhyolite is an extrusive igneous rock formed by the rapid cooling of lava on the earth's surface. When the same lava (known as magma when found within the earth) cools and forms rocks within the earth's crust, it forms granite. Both rocks have a higher amount of silica and lesser amount of iron and magnesium.

From Quiz Elementary Minerals

Answer: chromium and vanadium

The name emerald comes from the Latin esmaralda, derived from the Hebrew izmergad meaning green. The Hooker brooch at the National Museum of Natural History is a 75 square-cut emerald surrounded by diamonds.

From Quiz What Geologic Feature am I?

Answer: Drumlin

Made of glacial deposits, or till, the drumlin is elongated in the direction that the glacier flowed.

From Quiz The Lithosphere...

Answer: One could hang a lamp on a hanging wall while they're mining.

The terms footwall and hanging wall were coined by miners because one could hang a lamp on a hanging wall and stand on a footwall.

From Quiz The Limestone Landscape

Answer: Slovenia

The Kras limestone plateau is on the Istrian Peninsula, east of Trieste. The word "karst" comes from the German name for the area. More generally, karst can mean any rock formation which has lost more of its material through dissolution rather than erosion. Most karst formations are limestone and most limestone formations are karst.

From Quiz Interesting Mineral Facts

Answer: to deceive

Phenakite is named from a Greek word for "to deceive" because it was long confused with quartz and other minerals that appear similar. A British specimen, pictured in an 1811 work, was described as white tourmaline for twenty years before it was recognized as a new mineral.

From Quiz Rocks and Minerals

Answer: Pyrite

A unique crystal type called 'pyritohedron' is named after this mineral.

From Quiz Geology 101: Weathering

Answer: Pressure-release fracturing

From Quiz Geology 101: Soil Horizons

Answer: O

The layers are labeled O, A, B and C, with D being bedrock. The top layer consists primarily of dead plant material. As far as I can ascertain, the letters do not stand for any specific word.

From Quiz Geology 101: Streams

Answer: Velocity

From Quiz Taken for Granite

Answer: Limestone

The White Cliffs of Dover are made of chalk - a type of limestone. This limestone is composed dominantly of coccoliths (phytoplankton with calcium carbonate 'shells') and was formed during the Cretaceous Period (145 million years ago - 65 million years ago).

From Quiz Crazy Crystal Structures

Answer: Two axes are the same, one different.

The tetragonal crystal structure is one that looks like a 3D rectangle with all angles at 90 and two pairs of different lengths. It makes up 2 of 14 space lattices. These are the simple tetragonal and the body centered tetragonal.

From Quiz Cubic Zirconia Is A Girl's Best Friend

Answer: dispersion of light

Think of when you turn a diamond or a CZ to the light and a rainbow of colors appears. The white light is being split into all those colors. The refractive index of diamond is higher at around 2.4.

From Quiz What Have I Become?

Answer: Gneiss

They were to be known as gneiss henceforth. Gneiss is a common metamorphic rock formed by regional metamorphism (involving large areas) of igneous rocks, commonly granite. Rock salt is a chemically formed metamorphic rock formed by evaporation of waters in Dead Sea and Aral Sea, among others. Mica is a common rock forming mineral.

From Quiz Land Down Under

Answer: Star

The trapiche emeralds are a rare type that are found only in three mines in Colombia - Muzo, Peñas Blancas and Coscuez, all three of which are located along the Carera river. The stones contain carbon impurities that radiate outwards from a central core forming a six pointed star. Other regions famous for emeralds include Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Russia. Another gemstone from the beryl family is the aquamarine which is a blue variety of beryl. The blue colour is due to the presence of iron in the stone.

From Quiz Physical Geology

Answer: James Hutton

Uniformitarianism is the theory that the Earth's processes are unchanging over time and progressing at very slow rates. So basically, according to this theory, the natural processes that shaped our Earth millions of years ago are the same as the natural processes that are still shaping our Earth today.

From Quiz Elementary Minerals

Answer: copper

Fabulous turquoise jewelry has been crafted by the Dine' (Navajo), Zuni, and other Native American groups. Before the current groups of Native Americans living in the Southwest, the Hohokam (disappeared in the fourteenth century) of the Tucson Basin produced ornaments with turquoise mosaic on shells.

From Quiz The Limestone Landscape

Answer: Carbonic acid

Carbonic acid is a very weak acid which forms when rain water reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is, however, strong enough to dissolve limestone to form calcium bicarbonate, a cause of "hard water".

From Quiz Clearly Crystals

Answer: faces

Faceting is the process of cutting a gem stone to reveal the full beauty of transparent minerals.

From Quiz Interesting Mineral Facts

Answer: metal oxides

Pure corundum is clear in color. The gem colors of corundum are a result of minor metal oxide impurities; ruby is colored by chromium oxide.

From Quiz Rocks and Minerals

Answer: Gold

Gold is found in a variety of different forms, including nuggets, leaves, and even crystals.

From Quiz Classes of Rock

Answer: Sedimentary

Sandstone is a type of sedimentary rock made from accumulated particles of sand.

From Quiz Rocks and Minerals

Answer: rock

A rock is a mixture of minerals.

From Quiz Geology 101: Weathering

Answer: Frost wedging

From Quiz Geology 101: Soil Horizons

Answer: A

This is the first layer in the zone of leaching.

From Quiz Geology 101: Streams

Answer: Stream gradient

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Last Updated Feb 17 2026 11:07 AM

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