Geology

Chimacum Middle School

6th Grade Earth Science

Created by Mr. González

1.1 use properties to identify, describe, and categorize substances, materials, and objects, and use characteristics to categorize living things.

Nature and Properties of Earth materials

BM#2 "Classify rocks and soils into groups based on their chemical and physical properties; describe the processes by which rocks and soils are formed."

Science EALR

Created by Mr. González

Your MissionYour company is bidding for a project with a mining company, Rock Co. One section of the bid requires that you describe the rock cycle including the three types of rock found on planet earth. You must be able to describe how you can identify each type of rock as well as show how soils are formed and classified.

You will also work as a team to create a PowerPoint presentation. The PowerPoint presentation will show why your company should be hired on with Rock Co.

An effective writer may consider the following points:- name the three types of rocks- describe and/or draw each type of rock- name two ways each type of rock can be identified- show how soils are formed and classified- describe the rock cycle,* describe how one rock type may become another* explain why the rock cycle is a cycle.

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Each One’s Responsibility

One person will become a rock expert, including the rock cycle.

One person will become a mineral expert.

One person will become a soil expert.

All will share.

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Classifying Rocks

Generally, rocks are classified into three major groups:– Sedimentary– Igneous– Metamorphic

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How Sedimentary are Formed

You start with SEDIMENTS!

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How Igneous are Formed

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How Metamorphic are Formed

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Rocks, a Cycle?

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MineralsA mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic, homogeneous solid with a definite chemical composition and an ordered atomic arrangement.* color---color may vary from one specimen of a mineral to another hence is not a very reliable property to help in mineral identification * luster---a mineral with a metallic luster will have a black or blackish colored powdered streak on a porcelain streak plate---that for a mineral with nonmetallic luster will have a light colored and mostly a nonprominent streak * streak color---see luster above * hardness---a streak plate, glass, copper penny, and fingernail are hardness tools which can be used to test mineral hardness---also a set of minerals called Moh's relative hardness set can be used to specify more accurately the relative hardness of a mineral * cleavage and fracture---the ability of a mineral to break apart in a consistent way (cleavage) or inability of a mineral to do so (fracture or to shatter) can aid in mineral identification * other special characteristics---the taste of halite (salty) and the smell of powdered sphalerite or sulfur (rotten eggs or sulfur) on a streak plate are examples

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Mineral HardnessMohs Scale of Mineral HardnessIn 1812 the Mohs scale of mineral hardness was devised by the German mineralogist Frederich

Mohs (1773-1839), who selected the ten minerals because they were common or readily available. The scale is not a linear scale, but somewhat arbitrary.

Hardness Mineral Associations and Uses

1 Talc Talcum powder.

2 Gypsum Plaster of paris. Gypsum is formed when seawater evaporates from the Earth’s surface.

3 Calcite Limestone and most shells contain calcite.

4 Fluorite Fluorine in fluorite prevents tooth decay.

5 Apatite When you are hungry you have a big "appetite".

6 Orthoclase Orthoclase is a feldspar, and in German, "feld" means "field".

7 Quartz  Used for decoration in the home.

8 Topaz The November birthstone. Emerald and aquamarine are varieties of beryl with a hardness of 8.

9 Corundum Sapphire and ruby are varieties of corundum. Twice as hard as topaz.

10 Diamond Used in jewelry and cutting tools. Four times as hard as corundum.

Created by Mr. González

Created by Mr. González

Soil Classification

Created by Mr. González

Created by Mr. González

BibliographyLesson on Rocks. Volcano World.

<http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/lessons/Rocks/Rocks1.html>

Rocks (2001). Museums Teaching Planet Earth. <http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/%7Edylan/mtpe/geosphere/topics/rx/rocks.html>

Mohs Scale of Hardness (10/29/00). American Federation of Mineralogical Societies. <http://www.amfed.org/t_mohs.htm>

Mineral Hardness/Cleavage (9/13/00). Minerals. <http://geollab.jmu.edu/Fichter/Minerals/hardness.html>

Twelve Soil Orders (7/5/02). University of Idaho, Soil Science Division. <http://soils.ag.uidaho.edu/soilorders/>