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A printable worksheet for the lesson Testing a rock like a scientist (KS2). It prints on A4 without the website around it. The answers are on a separate sheet for the teacher.

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KS2 · Ages 7 to 11 (Years 3 to 6)Howardites worksheet

Testing a rock like a scientist

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Key words

Meteorite
A meteorite is a piece of space rock that has survived its fall through the air and landed on Earth.
Fusion crust
Fusion crust is the thin, dark skin that forms on a meteorite as its surface melts during its fall.
Thumbprints
Thumbprints is a common name for regmaglypts, the shallow dents on a meteorite's surface that look as if pressed by thumbs.
Regmaglypts
Regmaglypts are shallow dents, like thumbprints, scooped into a meteorite's surface during its fiery fall.
Slag
Slag is the glassy, often bubbly waste left behind when metal is made from ore, and it is the most common rock mistaken for a meteorite.
Streak test
The streak test means rubbing a rock on the back of a ceramic tile to see the colour of its powder.

Choose the right answer

Circle the letter of the right answer.

  1. Why do scientists need several clues before deciding about a rock?
    • AEach clue only works on a sunny day
    • BSome Earth rocks share a single clue with meteorites
    • CMeteorites never show more than one clue
    • DThe rules say there must be exactly five clues
  2. A rock has a dark crust, feels heavy, pulls on a magnet and leaves no streak. What should happen next?
    • APut acid on it to test it
    • BCut it open at home to look inside
    • CAsk a museum or university to check it
    • DHeat it to see if it melts
  3. Why do most meteorites feel heavier than an Earth rock of the same size?
    • AThey are full of water
    • BThey are covered in sand
    • CThey are hollow inside
    • DThey contain metal
  4. What is a streak?
    • AThe trail of light made by a meteor in the sky
    • BA shiny stripe of metal running through a rock
    • CA long crack across a meteorite's fusion crust
    • DThe coloured line a mineral leaves on a rough tile

True or false?

Is the answer given right? Tick True or False.

  1. What do most meteorites leave on a white tile?

    Answer given: A bright red-brown streak like rust TrueFalse

  2. What colour streak does magnetite leave?

    Answer given: Black TrueFalse

Write your answer

Answer in a word or a short sentence.

  1. A heavy rock is attracted to a magnet and leaves a strong black streak. What is it most likely to be?
  2. Two rocks are the same size. Rock A weighs 250 g and rock B weighs 1,000 g. How many times heavier is rock B?

Task

Try the streak test on any rocks you have, using the back of a white tile. Record the colour of each streak in a table. Then use the Is my rock a meteorite? checker on this site to go through the clues one at a time for an imaginary rock.

Howardites · free to copy for use in your classroom · answers are on the separate teacher's answer sheet