Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 1
Team #4, Week 4, Day 1, Lesson 3
Subject Area
Earth Science: Differentiate between minerals and rocks Part 1.
Person Who Created This Lesson
Joan Aitken
Roles of Support Teachers
 Clarify information if students seem confused.
 Work independently with students who need additional help, either in small
groups or individually.
 Work with students who finish early by helping them find independent work on
the computers or leave the room for a learning activity, for example.
 Interject new perspective or provide procedural support if there is a learning or
behavior problem.
 Provide encouragement to students and lead teacher.
Length of Lesson
Approximately one hour.
Materials
Pencils or pens
Notebook paper
Internet access.
Instructional Objective for the Group (Condition, Behavior, Criteria, Timeframe)
After given a prompt (e.g., experiment, handout, lecture, overhead transparency), the
student will be able to differentiate between minerals and rocks —orally, through
drawing, by posting to a blog, or in writing--the key lesson concepts with 80% accuracy,
in one of two trials.
Advance Organizer (Script)
Today we’re going to differentiate between minerals and rocks.
The rationale is this will provide a connection between what you’ve learned about rocks
and what you need to know about minerals.
To give you an overview to our plan, we will have a lecture and discuss, then do online
research.
Instructional Procedures (Method)
1. Show VHS (already cued) Physical Geography Series: Introduction to Rocks and
Minerals (few minutes)
2. Handout IS IT A ROCK OR A MINERAL?
3. Treasure Chests of Minerals around the house
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 2
4. Copper penny experiment.
5. Divide into small groups or pairs to conduct research and discuss how to
differentiate between minerals and rocks.
Guided Practice
All teachers will be involved in helping and correcting students individually or in small
groups, while they differentiate between minerals and rocks.
Independent Practice
Given the lesson prompt (e.g., experiment, handout, overhead transparency), the student
will independently differentiate between minerals and rocks —orally, through drawing,
by posting to a blog, or in writing-- with 80% accuracy, in one of two trials.
Evaluation/Assessment
I will answer the question “Have I met the instructional objective?” by having students
demonstrate the instructional objective.
Review (Interactive Recap)
What we did: You learned to differentiate between minerals and rocks
Connection to real world: This will sharpen your scientific observation skills.
Reference (Source of Lesson)
Video
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 3
Minerals Treasures Around the House
Automobile 15 different minerals
Baby powder Talc
Cake/Bread Gypsum, phosphates
Carbon paper Bentonite, zeolite
Carpet Calcium carbonate, limestone
Caulking Limestone, gypsum
Concrete Limestone, gypsum, iron oxide, clay
Counter tops Titanium dioxide, calcium carbonate, aluminum hydrate
Drinking water Limestone, lime, salt, fluorite
Fiberglass roofing Silica, borates, limestone, soda ash, feldspar
Fruit juice Perlite, diatomite
Glass/Ceramics Silica sand, limestone, talc, lithium, borates, soda ash, feldspar
Glossy paper Kaolin clay, limestone, sodium sulfate, lime, soda ash, titanium
dioxide
Hair cream Calcium carbonate
Household cleaners Silica, pumice, diatomite, feldspar, limestone
Ink Calcium carbonate
Jewelry Precious and semi-precious stones
Kitty litter Attapulgite, montmorillonite, zeolites, diatomite, pumice, volcanic ash
Linoleum Calcium carbonate, clay, wollastonite
Lipstick Calcium carbonate, talc
Medicines Calcium carbonate, magnesium, dolomite, kaolin, barium, iodine,
sulfur, lithium
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 4
Microwavable container Talc, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide, clay
Optical fibers Glass
Paint Titanium dioxide, kaolin clays, calcium carbonate, mica, talc, silica,
wollastonite
Pencil Graphite, clay
Plant fertilizers Potash, phosphate, nitrogen, sulfur
Porcelain figurines Silica, limestone, borates, soda ash, gypsum
Pots and pans Aluminum, iron
Potting soil Vermiculite, perlite, gypsum, zeolites, peat
Spackling Gypsum, mica, clay, calcium carbonate
Sports equipment Graphite, fiberglass
Sugar Limestone, lime
Telephone 42 different minerals
Television 35 different minerals
Toothpaste Calcium carbonate, limestone, sodium carbonate, fluorine
Vegetable oil Clay, perlite, diatomite
Vitamin Pill
Wallboard Gypsum, clay, perlite, vermiculite, aluminum hydrate, borates
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 5
From Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.,
Learn about Metals
Use pennies, nails, and a few simple household ingredients to explore some of the
properties of metals:
Materials
 20-30 dull pennies
 1/4 cup white vinegar (dilute acetic acid)
 1 teaspoon salt (NaCl)
 1 shallow, clear glass or plastic bowl (not metal)
 1-2 clean steel screws or nails
 water
 measuring spoons
 paper towels
Shiny Clean Pennies
1. Pour the salt and vinegar into the bowl.
2. Stir until the salt dissolves.
3. Dip a penny halfway into the liquid and hold it there for 10-20 seconds. Remove
the penny from the liquid. What do you see?
4. Dump the rest of the pennies into the liquid.
The cleaning action will be visible for several seconds. Leave the pennies in the
liquid for 5 minutes.
5. Proceed to 'Instant Verdigris!'
Pennies get dull over time because the copper in the pennies slowly reacts with air to
form copper oxide. Pure copper metal is bright and shiny, but the oxide is dull and
greenish. When you place the pennies in the salt and vinegar solution, the acetic acid
from the vinegar dissolves the copper oxide, leaving behind shiny clean pennies. The
copper from the copper oxide stays in the liquid. You could use other acids instead of
vinegar, like lemon juice.
Instant Verdigris!
1. Note: You want to keep the liquid you used to clean the pennies, so don't dump it
down the drain!
2. After the 5 minutes required for 'Shiny Clean Pennies', take half of the pennies out
of the liquid and place them on a paper towel to dry.
3. Remove the rest of the pennies and rinse them well under running water. Place
these pennies on a second paper towel to dry.
4. Allow about an hour to pass and take a look at the pennies you have placed on the
paper towels. Write labels on your paper towels so you will know which towel
has the rinsed pennies.
5. While you are waiting for the pennies to do their thing on the paper towels, use
the salt and vinegar solution to make 'Copper Plated Nails'.
Rinsing the pennies with water stops the reaction between the salt/vinegar and the
pennies. They will slowly turn dull again over time, but not quickly enough for you to
watch! On the other hand, the salt/vinegar residue on the unrinsed pennies promotes a
reaction between the copper and the oxygen in the air. The resulting blue-green copper
oxide is commonly called 'verdigris'. It is a type of patina found on a metal, similar to
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 6
tarnish on silver. The oxide forms in nature as well, producing minerals such as malachite
and azurite.
Copper Plated Nails
1. Place a nail or screw so that it is half in and half out of the solution you used to
clean the pennies. If you have a second nail/screw, you can let it sit completely
immersed in the solution.
2. Do you see bubbles rising from the nail or the threads of the screw?
3. Allow 10 minutes to pass and then take a look at the nail/screw. Is it two different
colors? If not, return the nail to its position and check it again after an hour.
The copper that coats the nail/screw comes from the pennies. However, it exists in the
salt/vinegar solution as positively charged copper ions as opposed to neutral copper
metal. Nails and screws are made of steel, an alloy primarily composed of iron. The
salt/vinegar solution dissolves some of the iron and its oxides on the surface of the nail,
leaving a negative charge on the surface of the nail. Opposite charges attract, but the
copper ions are more strongly attracted to the nail than the iron ions, so a copper coating
forms on the nail. At the same time, the reactions involving the hydrogen ions from the
acid and the metal/oxides produce some hydrogen gas, which bubbles up from the site of
the reaction - the surface of the nail or screw.
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/demonstrations/a/aa022204a.htm
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 7
IS IT A ROCK OR A MINERAL?
by Sherry Weisgarber http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/geosurvey/edu/hands11.htm.
What is a mineral? A material must fit the following four general criteria to be called a
mineral:
1. Minerals are inorganic, meaning they typically do not form from the remains of
plants or animals.
2. Minerals are naturally occurring. True minerals are not manmade.
3. Minerals have the same chemical makeup wherever they are found. For example,
the mineral quartz always consists of one part silicon (an element) to two parts
oxygen (another element). Some minerals, like gold, copper, and sulfur, are made
up of only one element. However, most minerals are combinations of several
different elements.
4. Minerals have specific repeating patterns of atoms. This orderly arrangement of
atoms forms the mineral's characteristic crystal shape. For example, a crystal of
quartz is always hexagonal because of the way the atoms of silicon and oxygen
join together. However, if a quartz crystal does not have much room to grow, it
may not look hexagonal on the outside, even though the atoms on the inside are
arranged in the same orderly pattern.
Example Minerals
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/vwlessons/lessons/Slideshow/Show1/Show1ind
ex.html
Augite
Magnetite
Milky Quartz
Galena
Biotite Mica
Talc
Dolomite
Pyrite
Kaolinite
Horneblende
K-Spar
Orthoclase
Graphite
Pyrite
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 8
Plagioclase
Pyroxene
Calcite
What is a rock? Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. A rock is made up of one or
more minerals. Rocks can be placed in one of three categories depending on how they
form:
1. Igneous rocks form from magma (molten rock) either deep within the Earth (for
example, granite), or on the Earth's surface when lava cools and hardens (for
example, pumice).
2. Sedimentary rocks are layered rocks that form primarily from the accumulation
and compaction of sediment which is derived from preexisting rocks by erosion
(weathering by water, wind, or ice) (for example, sandstone). Some sedimentary
rocks form by precipitation from solution (for example, gypsum).
3. Metamorphic rocks form when preexisting rocks--igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic--are subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures deep within
the Earth. The intense heat and pressure cause the mineral composition and grain
size to change. For example, limestones become marbles and shales become
slates.
Now that you know the general definitions, how can you tell the difference between
rocks and minerals? This is where observation and classification becomes important.
Minerals are homogeneous (the same throughout). A mineral will generally have the
same appearance both on the interior and exterior of the sample. The properties of color
and texture generally do not vary sharply because of this homogeneity. However, color
Differentiate between minerals and rocks part 1, 9
and texture generally do vary sharply in rocks because rocks are made up of a variety of
different minerals.
CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS AND ROCKS
MINERALS
ROCKS
pure (made of same substance)
more than one mineral
some have crystals
not single crystals
usually pretty
not usually as pretty
usually have a shape
no definite shape
color is usually the same
color is not the same
no fossils
some have fossils
http://msnucleus.org/membership/html/k-6/rc/rocks/1/rcr1_1a.html
Why are Rocks and Minerals Important To the Average Person ?
http://www.ontariogeoscience.net/keyconceptitems/rocksandminerals.html
Why are the minerals formed by these elements, and the rocks that the minerals form, so
important? Minerals are the building blocks upon which life and our modern societies
depend. Our Earth produces vast amounts of renewable resources – wind, water and soil
components, for example. However, sometimes these resources aren’t enough and “if it
can’t be grown, it’s got to be mined”. In other words, we need to tap into the nonrenewable riches of the earth – its minerals and the rocks which contain them. Minerals
are valued for everything from their beauty, rarity and hardiness as precious gemstones to
their useful practicality in the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, construction, petroleum,
and high-tech industries. Rocks house these minerals and also provide for many uses: as
the foundation from which soil is produced; as the foundations of naturally occurring
mountains; as building blocks for most of the great monuments of human history; and as
the decorative stones of current architecture and design. Earth abounds with very
important resources and humanity has had relatively short time to learn how to explore
them. Our roles as future citizens of planet Earth are to explore for and conserve Earth's
resources in a responsible manner. Look around and see how many things you use in your
everyday life that came from minerals and rocks !