Lesson Plan in Earth Science Grade 11

Miraflor C. Layda
Lurugan National High School
0935-892-5292

Content Standards:
The learners demonstrate an understanding of the Earth’s internal structure.
Performance Standards:
The learner shall be able to conduct a survey to assess the possible geologic hazards
that your community may experience.
Learning Competency and Code:
Identify common rock-forming minerals using their physical and chemical properties
S11/12ES-Ib5

Quarter: 1st Week: 2 Day: 3/4

I. Objectives:
At the end of 120 minutes, 100% of the learners are expected to:
1. Demonstrate understanding about physical and chemical properties of
minerals
2. Identify some common rock-forming minerals.
3. Classify minerals based on chemical affinity

II. Content: Field Trip, Group Discussion

Subject Matter: Earth and Earth Systems
Integration:
Araling Panlipunan, English, MAPEH
Strategies:
Materials: As stated
References: Introduction to Earth Science, Thompson and Turk, pages 26-37

III. Learning Tasks

ELICIT (Access prior knowledge ) 5 Minutes Materials

To elicit prior knowledge, ask students some Encoded/

questions: handwritten Key terms
1. Do you consider water a mineral?
Answer: No. It is not solid and crystalline.
2. How about snowflake, or tube ice? Are
these minerals?
Answer: Tube ice is not a mineral, because it
is not naturally occurring. But a snowflake
possesses all the properties under the
definition of a mineral.

ENGAGE (Get the students’ minds focused on the

topic)
10 Minutes

35
 Bring the students outside; instruct them to look Open field, rock sample
for five unique stones. Ask at least 3 students to
describe the stone they picked.
EXPLORE (Provide students with a common
experience) 45 Minutes
MINERAL PROPERTIES (Demonstration) Video clip (materials: hand
1. Use table salt or halite to demonstrate the lens, rock sample box)
different mineral properties. Fact sheets
2. In a group, using their stones collected, let the
students answer the following:
Tabulate the answers using the template below:

Mineral Name 1 2 3 4 5
Chemical
composition
Hardness
Luster
Streak
Color
Other
properties

EXPLAIN (Teach the concept. Should include

interaction between teacher and students). 25
Minutes
Let the students explain/present their answers in Internet, book, powerpoint
Explore.
The teacher will then discuss (through
PowerPoint presentation) the different
mineral properties which must be identified
and defined:
o luster
o hardness
o crystal form
o color and streak
o cleavage
o Specific gravity
o Others (taste, odor, reaction to acid, etc)
o Chemical compositions of minerals

ELABORATE (Students apply the information

learned in the Explain. The teacher will give inputs to
deepen the understanding of the students) 20 minutes
Bring already identified rock samples as tool Rock identification chart
for comparing and identifying learner’s rock samples.
Give the learners enough time to identify rock
samples based on physical properties provided that in

36
the absence of internet, a rock identification chart be
given as guide.
EVALUATE 10 minutes
Let the students answer the question below.
1. Summarize the different characteristics that
define a mineral.
Answer: inorganic, naturally occurring,
crystalline, solid and must have a consistent
chemical composition.
2. Which among the following mineral groups,
if any, contain silicon: halides, carbonates or
sulfides? Explain.
Answer: None. The identified mineral groups
are nonsilicates.
3. Which is more abundant in the Earth’s crust:
silicates or all the other mineral groups
combined? Explain.
Answer: Silicates. Silicon and oxygen are the
main components of silicates and these are
the two most abundant elements in the
Earth’s crust.
4. An unknown opaque mineral has a black
streak and has a density of 18g/cm3. Is the
mineral metallic or non-metallic?
Answer: The mineral is more likely to be
metallic because it is opaque and metallic
minerals are usually heavy and with dark
streaks
5. How does streak differ from color, and why is
it more reliable for rock identification?
Answer: Streak is the color of a mineral in
powdered form. It is more reliable because it
is inherent to most minerals. Color is not
reliable because a mineral can be formed
with varieties of color, an effect of impurities
and weathering.
6. Differentiate between habit and a cleavage
plane.
Answer: Habit is the external shape of a
crystal that is developed during the formation
of the mineral. A cleavage plane is a plane of
weakness that may develop after the crystal
formation.
7. Is it possible for a mineral to have a prismatic
habit without having any cleavage? Why or
why not? If yes, give an example.
Answer: Yes, the prismatic habit is
simultaneously developed while the mineral is
growing. During the process, there is no
repetitive plane of weakness being created

37
 which makes the mineral break only by
fracturing. An example of this scenario is
quartz.
8. Define “rock-forming mineral,” and give
three examples.
Answer: A rock-forming mineral is a mineral
that is common and abundant in the Earth's
crust; one making up large masses of rock.

EXTEND (Deepen conceptual understanding

through use in new context). 5 minutes

List five minerals found in the surrounding

and their common uses. Identify the specific
property/properties that make the mineral suitable for
those uses.
For example, graphite, having a black streak
and hardness of 1-2, is used in pencils due to its
ability to leave marks on paper and other objects.

IV. Reflection:

A. No. of learners who achieve 80%: ________

B. No. of Learners who inquire additional activities for remediation: ________
C. Did the remedial lessons work? ________
D. No. of learners who have caught up the lesson: ________
________
E. No. of learners who continue to require remediation:
F. Which of my teaching strategies worked well? Why did this work?
___________________________________________________________________
G. What difficulties did I encounter which my principal or supervisor help me solve?
___________________________________________________________________
H. What innovation or localized materials did I use/discover which I wish to share
with another teacher?
___________________________________________________________________

Lecture Notes

38
 Mineral Properties
1. Luster – it is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral
a. Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a resplendent shine similar to a polished
metal
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like), resinous,
silky, pearly, dull (earthy), greasy, etc.
2. Hardness – it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to
abrasion.
a. The use of a hardness scale designed by German geologist/mineralogist Friedrich
Mohs in 1812 (Mohs Scale of Hardness). The test compares the resistance of a
mineral relative to the 10 reference minerals with known hardness. It is simply
determining the hardness of a mineral by scratching them with common objects of
known hardness (e.g. copper coin -3.0-3.5).

Moh’s scale of Hardness

PROS
Easy to do the test The scale is qualitative and not quantitative

39
 Can be done anywhere, anytime as long as the place is not dark
Mohs scale is highly relevant for field geologists to roughly identify minerals
using scratch kits
Can be done without or few kits – handy

CONS
The scale is qualitative and not quantitative
Cannot be used to test accurate hardness of industrial materials

3. Color and streak – Color maybe a unique identifying property of certain minerals
(e.g. malachite – green, azurite – blue). There are also lots of minerals that share
similar or the same color/s. In addition, some minerals can exhibit a range of colors.
The mineral quartz for example, can be pink (rose quartz), purple (amethyst), orange
(citrine), white (colorless quartz) etc. Streak on the other hand is the color of a
mineral in powdered form. Note that the color of a mineral could be different from the
streak. For example, pyrite (FeS2) exhibits golden color (hence the other term of
pyrite which is Fool’s Gold) but has a black or dark gray streak. Streak is a better
diagnostic property as compared to color. Streak is inherent to almost every mineral.
Color maybe unreliable for identification as impurities within the minerals may give
the minerals a different color.
4. Crystal Form/Habit –The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is
displayed / observed as these crystals grow in open spaces. The form reflects the
supposedly internal structure (of atoms and ions) of the crystal (mineral). It is the
natural shape of the mineral before the development of any cleavage or fracture.
Examples include prismatic, tabular, bladed, platy, reniform and equant. A mineral
that do not have a crystal structure is described as amorphous. The crystal form also
define the relative growth of the crystal in 3 dimension which are its length, width and
height.
5. Cleavage – It is the property of some minerals to break along parallel repetitive
planes of weakness to form smooth, flat surfaces. These planes of weakness are
inherent in the bonding of atoms that makes up the mineral. These planes of weakness
are parallel to the atomic planes and appear to be repeating within the mineral. When
minerals break evenly in more than one direction, cleavage is described by the
number of cleavage directions and the angle(s) between planes (e.g. cleavage in 2
directions at 90 degrees to each other).
6. Fracture – Some minerals may not have cleavages but exhibit broken surfaces that
are irregular and non-planar. Quartz for example has an inherent weakness in the
crystal structure that is not planar. Examples of fracture are conchoidal, fibrous,
hackly, and uneven among others.
7. Specific Gravity – It is the ratio of the weight of a mineral to the weight of an equal
volume of water. A bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh 10 times more than a
bucket of water (SG 1). It is a measure to express the density (mass per unit volume)
of a mineral. The specific gravity of a mineral is numerically equal to density.
8. Others – There are certain unique properties of minerals that actually help in their
identification (e.g. magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc.). Magnetite
is strongly magnetic; sulfur has distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite fizzes with
acid as with dolomite but in powdered form.

B. Mineral Groups

40
1. Silicates – minerals containing 2 of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s
crust, namely, silicon and oxygen. When linked together, these two elements form the
silicon oxygen tetrahedron – the fundamental building block of silicate minerals. Over
90% of the rock-forming minerals belong to this group. Aside from Si (46.6 % by wt.)
and O (27.7%), the other most common elements that make the earth’s crust are Al
(8.1), Fe (5.0), Ca (3.6), Mg (3.1), Na (2.8) and K 2.6).
2. Oxides – minerals containing Oxygen anion (O2-) combined with one or more
metal ions
3. Sulfates – minerals containing Sulfur and Oxygen anion (SO4)- combined with
other ions
4. Sulfides – minerals containing sulfur anion (S2)- combined with one or more ions.
Some sulfides are sources of economically important metals such as copper, lead and
zinc.
5. Carbonates – minerals containing the carbonate anion (CO3)2- combined with
other elements
6. Native Elements – minerals that form as individual elementsa.
a. Metals and Inter-metals – minerals with high thermal and electrical
conductivity, typically with metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead)b.
b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile than metals and have lower
conductivity (arsenic, bismuth)c.
c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides- minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more
elements

41