Rock 'n' Roll

Rocks! What are they good for?

What stories can be discovered?

Take a peek at these sites for some very interesting facts:

http://www.nma.org/40minerals.html

http://www.phmining.com/facts/lives.html

http://www.nma.org/whatminingmeans.html

http://www.phmining.com/facts/knowledge.html

 

Minerals? 

 

I thought we were talking about ROCKS?

Check out this site to find out the difference:

http://pangea.usask.ca/~dfs846/rockhound/junior_minerals.html

Ready to start collecting

your own specimens? 

First check out these safety sites and print out the quiz when you pass it:

http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/safety/index.html

http://pangea.usask.ca/~dfs846/rockhound/junior_safety.html

Get rolling and collect thirty rocks and minerals:

Remember to find specimens in their natural surroundings, not things transplanted by man.

Care for your specimen:

  •  

    Number it.

  •  

    Record the number in your logbook with this information:

    •  

      date

    •  

      place

    •  

      surroundings description (other natural formations)

    •  

      specimen description (properties of color, luster, etc.-see vocabulary below and in your science text)

  •  

    Keep it in a container or ziplock bag.

  •  

    As soon as possible, conduct tests to determine its content.

    •  

      Record the results of the tests on notecards or database.

  •  

    Prepare your specimens for display:

    •  

      numbered specimens

    •  

      labels with place and specimen description with appropriate classification and name

 

Now begin your research:

Rocks and minerals:  http://www.fi.edu/tfi/units/rocks/

Minerals:  http://www.immr.tu-clausthal.de/

Mineral background:

http://www.earthscienceworld.org/week/wrapper.html?page=activities/Mineral_Background_Sheet.html

Links:  http://www.yahooligans.com/Science_and_Oddities/Earth__The/Geology/Rocks_and_Minerals/

Smithsonian:  http://galaxy.einet.net/images/gems/gems.html

 

Rock 'n' Roll Project

 

Show what you know!

  •  

    Neatly labeled collection

  •  

    Report

    What did you learn about

    • rocks?
        tests?

        formation?

        kinds?

    • minerals?
        tests?

        formation?

        kinds?

    • careers?
    • experiments?
    • lab reports?
  •  

    How did you learn it (what did you do?)

  •  

    Vocabulary:  Make a glossary of your own rock/mineral terms

  •  

    What are rocks and minerals good for?

  • What stories do they tell? Give an example.

 

Vocabulary

Use your science and internet research to complete this glossary of terms:

Atoms

Cleavage
The tendency of certain minerals to break along planes of weakness, producing flat surfaces.
Compound
A substance composed of two or more chemical elements. Most minerals are compounds.
Color
 
Crystal
A mineral's unique structure, defined by flat surfaces that meet together at an edge, produced by the orderly internal arrangement of chemical elements or compounds.
Density
 
Element
A substance made of only one kind of atom.
Gem
Any precious or semi-precious stone, especially those used for jewelry or ornament.
Habit
The characteristic shape of a mineral crystal or group of crystals.
Luster

Metal

 
Mineral
A naturally occurring substance composed of an orderly internal arrangement of chemical elements or compounds.
Mohs Hardness Scale
A sequence of 10 common minerals arranged according to their ability to scratch each other
Rock
 
Streak