Name____________________________________________________
Ms. Sameroff
Objective:
DO NOW
Period________ Date________________
SWBAT compare and contrast rocks and minerals.
SWBAT explain what ores, how they form and there uses.
Vocabulary
Activity #1
Activity #2
Exit
Objective: Do cell phones have anything in common with rocks and minerals? Explain.
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VOCABULARY-Use your worksheet to define the words below.
Rock
large solid mass of consolidated or unconsolidated mineral matter
Mineral
Ore
Gangue
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ACTIVITY #1
Though some may look similar on the surface, rocks and minerals differ because minerals have definite chemical
composition but rocks do not. Rocks are usually made up of two or more minerals. They may contain fossils, but
minerals do not.
A rock is a large solid mass of consolidated or unconsolidated mineral matter. Geologists classify rocks as larger
than pebbles, but smaller than boulders. Rocks are classified into three types, depending on how they are
formed: sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous. Some well-known rocks are gneiss, slate, and granite.
Minerals are inorganic homogeneous substances that form naturally under the ground. They are usually chemical
compounds, but some, such as copper and gold, are elements. Some minerals are even required by the human
body for nutrition. Some well-known minerals are quartz, salt, and petroleum.
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THINK, PAIR, SHARE
Explain one type of ore deposit.
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ACTIVITY #2
Name of Ore
Bauxite
Jamaica, Australia*
Cassiterite
Metal Component
Uses
Aluminum
Cookware, Aircraft
Tin
Bolivia, Rwanda*
Chalcopyrite
United States, Canada*
metal coatings,
bronze and pewter
Copper
wire, coins, bronze,brass,
pewter
Galena
Germany, United States*
Lead
pipes, batteries,pewter
Gold
Gold
jewelry, coins
Australia, South Africa, China*
Hematite
United States, Brazil*
Iron
steel for automobilesand
Pitchblende
Kazakhstan, Canada*
Uranium
buildings
nuclear fuel
Silver
Silver
jewelry, coins
Zinc
galvanized iron, brass
Tungsten
light bulb filaments,
Norway, United States*
Sphalerite
United States, Germany*
Wolframite
China, Portugal*
steel
*Major ore-producing countries
1. Which ores are used in making various kinds of steel?
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2. Which ores contain metals used in making coins?
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3. Name the ores which contain metals for each of these alloys:
Brass ______________________
Bronze
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Pewter
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4. Which ores are sources of metals used in the making of automobiles?
4. A light bulb contains the metals listed below. From which country might each one come?
Copper
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Tin
____________________________
Zinc ______________________________
Tungsten
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What’s in a rock?
Rocks tell us many things. Depending on the type of rock, they tell us about the Earth’s history; about extinct animals and
plants whose fossils lie preserved within them; about explosive volcanoes; about earthquakes; about rivers that washed
them away to be deposited elsewhere; and about what it is like inside the Earth.
Some of the particles that make rocks are called minerals. A mineral is a naturally occurring compound with a fixed
composition and internal atomic structure. For example, quartz is a mineral with a chemical composition of Si02 .
Rocks are mixtures of minerals called aggregates. For example, sandstone is composed of minerals such as quartz and
feldspar.
Some minerals are useful or valuable. Commonly used metals like iron, copper, aluminum and zinc are contained within
certain minerals. For example, copper (Cu) occurs in the mineral chalcopyrite (CuFeS2 ), which is mined at Mount Isa.
Industrial minerals are commonly used in industry for building and construction. These include limestone, gypsum,
sandstone, greywacke, slate and marble.
Minerals are all around us. However, they occur rarely in ore deposits. An ore deposit is an economic term used to describe
high concentrations of minerals and can be mined profitably.
Although more than 2,800 mineral species have been identified, only about 100 are considered ore minerals. Among these
are hematite, magnetite, limonite, and siderite, which are the principal sources of iron; chalcopyrite, bornite, and
chalcocite, the principal sources of copper; and sphalerite and galena, the principal sources, respectively, of zinc and lead.
Copper, molybdenum, and gold are commonly found in disseminated deposits—i.e., scattered more or less uniformly
through a large volume of rock. Copper, lead, and zinc are frequently found in massive sulfide deposits. Many such deposits
are believed to have been formed by precipitation from volcanic exhalations on the seafloor or by metasomatic
replacement (a process of simultaneous solution and deposition).
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No ore deposit consists entirely of a single ore mineral. The ore is always mixed with unwanted or valueless rocks and
minerals that are collectively known as gangue. Generally, the ore and the gangue are mined together—i.e., taken out of
the host rock in a mass by either mechanical or manual means. Then the ore is separated from the gangue by various
operations known collectively as mineral processing, or ore dressing. The desired metallic element is then extracted from
the ore by various smelting, roasting, or leaching processes. Advances in hydrometallurgy have meant that some metals—
such as copper, uranium, and gold—can be removed from the host rock without drilling and blasting. Special bacteria are
sometimes used as part of this process. After recovery, the metals may be still further refined (purified) or alloyed with
other metals, as in a copper refinery or steel mill. Mining, processing, and refining are thus successive steps in the utilization
of an ore deposit to yield a metal.
Questions
What is an ore? (Use this sentence starter. An ore is…)
What are minerals?
How is ore separated from gangue?
Name two specific types of ores.
EXIT TICKET
After the lesson, now I understand…
Something I still need help with…
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