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Earth's Materials and Systems (Rocks, Plate Tectonics) — 6th Grade Science practice questions

32 multiple-choice questions and 15 flashcards on Earth's Materials and Systems (Rocks, Plate Tectonics), about 21% of the 6th Grade Science bank. Every one carries a written rationale.

Written and maintained by Nick Burton · last updated 2026-08-22 · how we write and review questions

What this chapter covers

Earth's Materials and Systems (Rocks, Plate Tectonics) is one of 5 chapters in CoStudy's 6th Grade Science (Earth Science) bank, and it holds 32 of the bank's 150 multiple-choice questions — roughly 21% of the total. That proportion is not arbitrary: chapters follow the certifying body's published exam outline, and the number of questions in each is set by that domain's published weight, so the share of your practice time this chapter takes matches the share of the real exam it accounts for.

Studying by chapter is worth doing once you have a diagnostic score. A single overall percentage tells you whether you are close; it does not tell you which domain is dragging. Working a weak chapter in isolation, and re-testing it in isolation, is the fastest way to move a score that has stalled — and it is why the mock exams in CoStudy report by domain rather than as one number.

Free Earth's Materials and Systems (Rocks, Plate Tectonics) practice questions

1 questions drawn from this chapter, with the full rationale shown — the controlling principle behind the right answer, and why each wrong option tempts and fails.

The three main rock types are:

  1. Old, middle, young
  2. Hard, soft, fragile
  3. Black, red, white
  4. Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic — formed by cooling magma/lava, layered deposits, and heat/pressure transformation respectively

Answer: D — Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic — formed by cooling magma/lava, layered deposits, and heat/pressure transformation respectively

Three rock-type classification by formation. (B), (C), (A) misread.

Earth's Materials and Systems (Rocks, Plate Tectonics) flashcards

4 cards from the 15 in this chapter.

What are 'tectonic plates'?

Huge slabs of Earth's crust + upper mantle. They float and move on the molten layer beneath.

What are 'metamorphic rocks'?

Formed when existing rocks are changed by heat and pressure. Examples: marble (from limestone), slate (from shale).

WORKED EXAMPLE: Calculate the density of an object with mass 24 g and volume 6 cm³.

Step 1: Identify the formula. Density = mass ÷ volume (D = m/V). Step 2: Plug in given values. m = 24 g, V = 6 cm³. Step 3: Divide. 24 ÷ 6 = 4. Step 4: Attach units. Answer = 4 g/cm³. Step 5: Check reasonableness. Density of water is 1 g/cm³, so this object would sink in water.

What is the theory of plate tectonics?

Earth's crust is broken into large plates that slowly move, causing earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain building.

Practise the full chapter

These are a sample. The full Earth's Materials and Systems (Rocks, Plate Tectonics) chapter runs 47 items with per-chapter progress tracking, on the web and in the iOS app.

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