LESSON 1

LESSON 1: WHAT ARE ROCKS AND MINERALS?

AIMS:

1. What are rocks and minerals?

2. What are properties of rocks?

3. What are some vocabulary words associated with rocks and minerals?

MOTIVATION:

Ask students what they think of when they hear the word "rock". Elicit a discussion of what they know about rocks. Use their information to make a KWL chart like the one below.

K	W	L
They come in many colors and sizes.	How are rocks made?
The earth is a rock.	Why are there different colors in rocks?
Mountains are made of rock.	Why is gold and other metals found in rocks?
Gold is found in rocks.	Why are some rocks used in jewelry?
We use rocks to build with.	What is a mineral?
Pebbles to throw in the water.	Do rocks grow?
They're hard.	Why do rocks break?
They're fun to climb on.	What are some ways we use rocks?
Caves are made of rocks.	What are the people who study rocks called?

PROCEDURE:

1. Have students look at the following website to find out what a mineral is and what a rock is. The graphic shows that a rock is made of one or more minerals. Explain that is the mineral that gives a rock its properties.

http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/fellows/brannon/webquest/Rmhome2.htm

2. Direct students to look at examples of rocks from the following website: http://ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/RocksandMinerals/rocks.html

Granite	Basalt	Pumice
Limestone	Conglomerate	Slate

Ask children to talk about what they see. Ask questions like:

a. Are the colors all the same?

b. Are they all as hard as each other?

c. Do they look as they have the same texture? (feel)

d. Do they shine? (luster)

e. What do you think is the cause for all these differences?

3. Introduce vocabulary associated with rocks and minerals. Have children log on to http://m-w.com or http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/fellows/brannon/webquest/gloss.htm

to find the definitions of the following words:

For a student copy of the database, click here.

WORD	DEFINITION
rock	The solid part of earth.
mineral	A non-living substance that rocks are made of.
property	Are those characteristics of matter that can be used to describe it.
cleavage	How a rock breaks apart.
streak	The color the mineral makes when scratched across a surface.
texture	How the rock feels.
hardness	How hard the rock is in comparison to other rocks.
color	The color the minerals have.
luster	The shininess of a rock.
geology	The study of the earth.

4. Distribute a set of three different rocks to each group of 4 students. Have them complete an observation sheet for each rock (See student samples and pictures). They are to describe as many properties as possible. (Color, texture, hardness, luster, cleavage).

LAB ACTIVITY:

Problem: How can we test for limestone?

Hypothesis: If limestone is present in a rock, then bubbles will form when a weak acid is put on the rock.

Materials: variety of rocks labeled 1-5, (chalk contains limestone), vinegar, eyedropper, plastic cup, hand lens

Procedure: 1. Place a few drops of vinegar on each rock sample. 2. Look through hand lens to see if bubbles appear.

Observations: Fill-in the following chart:

Rock Sample	Observation
Rock 1	No bubbles
Rock 2	Bubbles
Rock 3	Bubbles
Rock 4	No bubbles
Rock 5	No bubbles

Conclusion: We learned that we can test for the presence of limestone by pouring a weak acid onto a rock sample and see if bubbles appear.

For pictures of the test for limestone, click here.

INTERNET ACTIVITIES:

1. Have your students bring in a rock they have found. They should list as many properties of the rock that they can. Log on to http://geoahead.com/petrology/identifyrock.cfm and use the rock identifier to try and find out what kind of rock they have found.

2. Log on to http://sdnhm.org/kids/minerals/games/index.html and take a mine quiz!

Go to the Rock Doctor's site and find out about the different properties of rocks! Log on here: http://cobweb.net/~bug2/rock1.htm

FOLLOW UP: This lesson leads to lesson 2- "How are rocks formed?