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F1: Elements, Minerals and Rocks

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How are the three rock classes defined and how do we recognise them?

The three classes of rock (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic), how each forms, and the textural and mineralogical features used to recognise each class in hand specimen.
A focused answer to WJEC and Eduqas A-Level Geology F1 on the three rock classes, covering how igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form and the diagnostic textures (interlocking crystals, grains and cement, foliation) and mineralogy used to recognise each in hand specimen.
13 min answer →

How do we identify a mineral from its physical properties?

The definition of a mineral, and the diagnostic physical properties (hardness, cleavage, fracture, lustre, colour, streak, density and crystal habit) used to identify common rock-forming minerals in hand specimen.
A focused answer to WJEC and Eduqas A-Level Geology F1, covering what defines a mineral and how hardness, cleavage, fracture, lustre, colour, streak, density and crystal habit are used to identify common rock-forming minerals such as quartz, feldspar, mica, calcite and the ferromagnesian minerals in hand specimen.
13 min answer →

Why do the silicate minerals dominate the crust and how does their structure control their properties?

The abundance of elements in the crust, the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron as the building block of the silicate minerals, and how the degree of tetrahedral linkage (isolated, chain, sheet and framework) controls cleavage, hardness and density.
A focused answer to WJEC and Eduqas A-Level Geology F1 on silicate minerals, covering the most abundant crustal elements, the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron, and how isolated, single-chain, sheet and framework silicate structures control cleavage, hardness and density in olivine, pyroxene, amphibole, mica, feldspar and quartz.
13 min answer →

How are the three rock classes linked by the rock cycle?

The rock cycle as the set of processes (weathering, erosion, transport, deposition, burial, lithification, metamorphism, melting and crystallisation) that recycle material between the three rock classes, driven by internal heat and surface energy.
A focused answer to WJEC and Eduqas A-Level Geology F1 on the rock cycle, covering how weathering, erosion, transport, deposition, lithification, metamorphism, melting and crystallisation recycle material between igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, and the internal and external energy sources that drive it.
12 min answer →