Rocks Minerals and Erosion (Mar - June)
Cluster #3: Rocks and Minerals
Solid Earth Materials…
There are 3 major layers to the earth: the crust, the mantle and the core.
a. Crust: is the outside layer, made of rock. It includes the ocean floor and mountains.
b. Mantle: is just below the crust, goes about 1800 miles to the core. Although the
temperature is hot enough to melt rock, this layer is mostly solid because of
pressure.
c. Core: innermost layer; has two sections. The outer core is warmer than the mantle and because of this, it is completely a liquid. The inner core is over 6000 degrees Celsius. Some scientists think the whole core is made of nickel and
iron.
Rocks are non-living, solid earth materials that make up the earth. Minerals are the non-living, solid earth materials that make up rocks. There are more than 4000 different types of minerals.
Properties of a Mineral:
a. Colour: look at the colour of the powdery trail left on a streak plate
b. Luster: shininess, the way the mineral reflects light
c. Cleavage: minerals can break into pieces with flat surfaces. The number of directions of these surfaces determines the cleavage.
d. Hardness: how hard or soft a mineral is on the Mohs’ Hardness scale. The higher the number on the scale, the harder the mineral.
Rocks are formed in three different ways and are classified by the way they are formed.
a. Igneous: minerals inside the earth melt and become molten rock, or magma. When magma cools, it becomes igneous rock.
b. Sedimentary: as layers of sediment settle upon each other, pressure builds on the lower layers forming sedimentary rock.
c. Metamorphic: these rocks are formed when one kind of rock is changed into a new kind of rock. The rock changes as a result of extreme heat from magma and pressure from colliding plates.
Weathering and erosion work to change the size and location of rocks.
Weathering is the process of big rocks being broken down into smaller rocks.
Acid rain, wind, rain, ice, snow, and plant roots break down the rocks. Once the
rocks are broken down, they are moved to different locations by a process called
erosion. Winds, waves, glaciers and flowing water erode
rocks.
Rocks are constantly changing.
A geologist is someone who studies the earth and the materials that make up the earth.
Sediment is a material such as silt, sand and organic matter that settles in water or is left somewhere else through erosion.
Rocks and Minerals Review…
For a test, quiz or review, take the time to review the work in your science duotang. Things that you need to know for this unit of study include:
- Be able to use appropriate “Rocks and Minerals Vocabulary” (use the page in your book to help you to study.) Remember that you don’t have to use ‘my’ words. As long as you are able to clearly explain what the word means, that works. Words and
terms to know include: rock, mineral, characteristic, property, scratch
test, streak test, igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, fossil, organism,
extinct, soil, formation, erosion, natural phenomena
- Be able to classify rocks
- Know the difference between a rock and a mineral. (Minerals are made of the same substance throughout; rocks are made of two or more minerals.)
- Give examples of products made from rocks and minerals (e.g. china, chalk, jewellry, pumice stone, drywall, talcum powder...)
- Describe how characteristics of rocks and properties of minerals determine what they are used for (e.g. Soapstone is used for carving because it is soft...)
- Recognize that there are three types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic) and describe how each is formed.
- Explain how fossils are formed.
- Describe effects of wind, water and ice on the landscape (Examples: ice breaking rocks into soil; erosion; wind shaping sand dunes; waves polishing rocks on the
shoreline...)
- Identify natural phenomena and human activities that cause significant changes in the landscape (Examples: floods, earthquakes; avalanches; mud slides; hydroelectric
dams; clearing land for agriculture and irrigation systems for farmland;
clear-cut forestry; forest fires...)
Websites:
http://www.rocksforkids.com/
http://www.rocksforkids.com/RFK/identification.html
http://www.linktolearning.com/grade4science.htm#Rocks,%20Minerals%20and%20Erosion
Study of rocks. Looking at various rocks to determine make up, classify according to various methods or scales, compostion, characteristics vs properties, type, fossils, erosion, geology and formation.
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/gamesactivities/rockssoils.html
http://www.neok12.com/Types-of-Rocks.htm
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/science/geology/geology-toolkit-rock-types
http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/usgsnps/rxmin/rock.html
http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/types.html
http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/types2.html
http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/types3.html
http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/online_field_journal/cp/cprk/cprkmain.html
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/geomysteries/faq3.html
http://www.rocksforkids.com/RFK/identification.html
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/expert/index.html
http://sciencespot.net/Pages/kdzethsci3.html