Rockhound Unit

1. rockhound: someone who studies, collects, and takes care of rocks.

2. rock: made from different minerals.

3. mineral: substance taken from the earth that has its own definite composition. Not animal or vegetable. Examples: coal, quartz, and copper.

4. hardness: resistance of a mineral to being scratched.

5. streak: color of the mineral in powder form left on a streak plate.

6. Igneous rock: formed by cooling of magma or lava.

7. Metamorphic rock: began as another kind of rock, but have changed because of heat or pressure.

8. Sedimentary rock: rocks formed over a period of time in layers.

9. foliated rock: rock that splits into thin layers.

10. cleavage: the way a mineral breaks along a weak line.

11. unfoliated rock: rock that doesn’t split into layers.

12. luster: the way the light reflects off of a mineral’s surface.

 

ROCKHOUND NOTEBOOK

 

TESTING: #1 Vocabulary Test-Matching (To be announced--this is the one you must study for.)

#2 Testing Rocks & Minerals- (Done with

a partner, in class, at end of unit.)

#3 Keying out Rocks-(Done independently

using a Rock Key and one sample.)

 

NOTEBOOK:

1. Vocabulary

2. Hot Rocks

3. Don’t Take It for Granite!

4. Metamorphic Rock Cakes

5. Making Sedimentary & Metamorphic Rocks

6. The Minerals in Sand

7. Crystal Systems- diagrams and names

8. Crystal Formation

9. Testing Rocks & Minerals (see above)

10. Keying Out Rocks (see above)

 

Mickey Mouse’s Metamorphic Rock Cakes!

 

Name: ___________ HR: _____

What is a metamorphic rock? Talk this over with your neighbor and give me answer below.

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe for M.M.M.R.C. (enough for whole class):

1 and 1/2 cup of flour 1 cup of milk

1/2 teaspoon of salt 2 eggs

3 teaspoons of baking-powder

1 tablespoon of shortening

Pam non-stick spray

 

Add ins: raisins, nuts, coconut, marshmallows, choco chips

 

Directions:

Mix the flour, salt, and baking-powder, add the milk gradually. Beat the eggs until light and fluffy in another container and then add to the flour and milk mixture. Add the shortening. Now stir in the raisins, nuts, coconut, marshmallows, and choco chips. Be sure that both sides of the waffle-iron are hot and have been sprayed with Pam. Pour a small amount of mixture into each waffle mold and close the lid. Open the lid and check to see if the waffles are cooked. Repeat until all of the batter is gone.

Conclusion:

1. Examine the metamorphic rock cake in front of you. How did the heat and pressure of the waffle iron change each of your ingredients? Be specific!

 

2. How is this similar to how metamorphic rocks are formed in real life?

 

 

	sand
	hand lens (magnifying glass)
	graph paper
	toothpick
	Minerals Common Color & Shapes Chart
	notebook paper

Step 1: Spread a small sample of sand on a piece of graph paper.

Step 2: Observe the particles using the hand lens.

Step 3: Use the mineral color and shape chart to identify the particles you observe.

List what you see here:

 

 

 

Step 4: Use a toothpick to spread out sand into one square so that the grains are touching, but not on top of one another.

Step 5: Count the number of grains in the one square of graph paper.

Record that number here: _________________

Step 6: Now, use the toothpick to separate the different minerals in that one square.

List the minerals and the number of grains of each below:

Name of Mineral Number of Grains

Step 7: Display the data about each mineral in a bar graph below. Be sure to include a title, labels for both sides of your graph, and a scale. Remember, the bars on a graph do not touch.

 

Step 8: Based on your data, which is the most common mineral in your sand sample?

Step 9: Create a line plot that shows the most common mineral for each group. Record your data below in the frequency table.

Name of MostCommon Mineral

Tally      Frequency

 

 

 

A pet rock

 

Your pet rock’s name is:

Your pet rock was made by:

Hometown (Where your rock was found):

Type of rock:

Directions for taking care or your pet rock:

 

 

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