Minerals, soil and resources
Answers are for parents and teachers.
1
Make a list of three minerals and three things that are not minerals, with a reason for each.
Answers differ: for example sulphur, quartz, halite are minerals; coal, sugar, plastic are not (organic or man-made).
2
Explain how crystals can form in a dish of salt water left in the sun.
Water evaporates, so more salt is present than the remaining water can hold, and salt crystals form.
3
Describe the difference between transported soil and sedentary soil with an Egyptian example of each.
Transported soil is carried by water or wind, like the Nile Delta’s soil; sedentary soil forms where the rock weathered, like the oasis and Mariout soils.
4
Write two ways you could use less of a non-renewable resource.
For example recycle metal cans; turn off lights and fans when not in use.
5
Find the mistake: “Ice is not a mineral, but liquid water is.”
It is the other way round: ice is crystalline and counts as a mineral, liquid water does not.