EARTH
AND LIFE
SCIENCE
A: Learning B: Leaning Targets:
Competency: a. I can define the
A.2 Explain that four subsystems of
the Earth consists earth across the
of four boundaries and
subsystems, energy flow.
across whose b. I can enumerate
boundaries matter the four subsystems
and energy flow of earth.
c. I can illustrate the
Learning Competencies
Identify common rock-forming minerals using
their physical and chemical properties.
Classify rocks into igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic;
“MINERALS
MAZE UP!”
Unscramble each word to
find the names of common
minerals that come from the
earth. After you get the
word deliver it to the
You can find this at the
end of a
pencil.
pihteg
ar
You can find this at the
end of a
pencil.
pihteg
ar
gr aph i t e
You can find this
in jewelry.
imado
nd
You can find this
in jewelry.
imado
nd
d i amond
You can find this
in a watch.
tzqrua
You can find this
in a watch.
tzqrua
quar t z
LESSON 3:
EARTH MATERIALS AND
PROCESSES
(ROCKS AND MINERALS)
Minerals are
the
ingredients of
rocks.
Or
Rocks are
Minerals
Defn: naturally
occurring, inorganic
elements or
compounds with
specific physical and
Mineral Properties
Used to identify minerals
1. Color
Least useful property in
identifying minerals.
Why?
All of these are varieties of quartz!
[Link]
The color of a minerals
powder.
“streak test”
3. Luster
How the minerals surface
reflects light.
Metallic vs. non- metallic.
4. Hardness
The ability of a mineral to resist
being scratched.
“Scratch test”
If mineral A can scratch mineral B,
what does that tell us about the
relative hardness of each mineral?
Moh’s Hardness Scale
Soft
Hard
5. Fracture/ Cleavage
Fracture Cleavage
Mineral The tendency of a
breaks Mineral to break
unevenly or evenly along its
irregularly weakest plane.
6. Crystal Form
Some minerals tend to form
crystals that aid in the
identification of the mineral.
7. Specific Gravity
The ratio of the density of the mineral
to the density of water (1 g/cm 3)
If a mineral has a specific gravity of 5
that means it is 5 times as dense as
water.
8. Others
Acid test – Calcite
Magnetic – Magnetite
Taste - Halite
A minerals properties
are due to the internal
arrangement of its
atoms.
Silicate Minerals
Minerals that contain a combination of
silicon and oxygen.
Silicon-oxygen
tetrahedron
The basic structural unit of silicate
minerals
Rocks
Polyminerali Monomineral
c ic
More than 1 1 Mineral
Mineral
Rocks are classified by
how they are formed!!!
Sedimentary Rocks:
1. Clastics
Rocks that form when sediments
(sand, silt etc.) are lithified.
Processes
Compacting and cementing
Vary due to grain size! (see ref tables p.
2. Non-Clastics
A. Organics (bioclastics)
• Form from living things.
Examples: Coal, limestone
B. Chemical (crystaline)
• Formed from the evaporation or precipitation of sea
water.
Examples: Halite, gypsum
Igneous:
- Form when liquid rock cools and
solidifies
Extrusive
Intrusive
Cools at
below
the the
Earths
earths
surface
surface
(quickly!)
(slowwwwly!)
Magma
Lava
“Plutonic”
“Volcanic”
The longer the rock takes to cool, the larger
the crystals!
Cools slow …..Large crystals
Cools fast …….small crystals
Cools immediately……NO Crystals (glass)
Vesicular- gas pockets
Metamorphic:
Rocks that are changed due to extreme heat and/or
pressure.
DO NOT MELT!!! (they recrystalize)
Metamorphic rocks become…
1. Harder
2. More dense
3. Banded or foliated
4. Distorted
Banding
Foliated
Regional Metamorphism
Occurs when large areas of rock are
changed.
Usually deep below the surface where
crustal plates collide.
Contact Metamorphism
Occurs when liquid rock comes into
contact with other rocks.
Identifying Characteristics of
Rocks
Igneous Sedimentary
Intergrown crystals Cemented fragments
Glassy texture (sediments)
Fossils
Organic material
Metamorphic
•Banding
•Foliated
The Rock Cycle
BONUS:
CLASSIFY this rock as igneous, sedimentary or
metamorphic and EXPLAIN why you classified it
that way.
BONUS:
Name the mineral that has the following properties:
Non-metallic
Can scratch fluorite but cannot scratch quartz
Exhibits cleavage
Contains the elements sodium & hydrogen
