Identification, Observation, and Research on a Specific Rock Located Behind
Goffstown High School, Goffstown, NH, and Relevant Research on the Rock
Cycle, formation of the Appalachian Mountains, and the Impacts of Localized
Glaciation
Sed Mentor
Earth Science Honors
Period 1
Dr. Houghton
3/29/2011
Abstract: The formation of rocks is an important concept in Earth Science.
Research on the rock cycle, the geologic history of local mountain ranges, and
the impacts of localized glaciation may lead to a better understanding of how
rocks form. Knowledge of research techniques, proper scientific writing, and
appropriate citations is imperative to success in science. Goffstown High School
(GHS) Earth Science Honors students predict the type of rock located behind the
school, research and write a scientific paper about rocks, the rock cycle, the
formation of the Appalachian Mountains, and the affects of glaciation on the
formation of rocks in New Hampshire. There are 3 main types of rocks; igneous,
metamorphic, and sedimentary. No sedimentary rocks are found in NH. The
Appalachian Mountains formed over a 200 million year period beginning about
420 million years ago. Three mountain building events, the Taconic, Alleghanian,
and the Acadian orogenies led to the formation of this mountain range. The
Laurentide Glacier impacted the current NH landscape by wearing down
bedrock, weathering and eroding mountaintops, carving out deep valleys,
forming river beds, and carrying boulders and sediments to new areas. The rock
located behind the school is Granite.
Objectives: 1) learn to use the Internet to do scientific research, 2) study the
formation of the Appalachian Mountains, rocks in New Hampshire and their
characteristics, the impacts of glaciation on the New England landscape, and the
different types of rocks formed and found around the world, 3) Identify, observe,
and research the type of rock located in the patch of forest between the road
behind Goffstown high school (GHS), Goffstown, NH, and the back parking lot at
GHS, 4) discover how to write a scientific paper using the scientific method, and
learn to properly format a scientific paper, 5) use in text citations, and properly
cite work.
Introduction: There are not many different rocks in New Hampshire. There are
only igneous and metamorphic rocks. The igneous rocks found in New
Hampshire are granite, diorite, granodiorite, syenite, pegmatite, gabbro, and
rhyolite (Table 1, “Alphabetical List of Igneous Rocks” 2000) Fix all!. The
metamorphic rocks found in New Hampshire are amphibolite, slate, schist,
quartzite, gneiss, and serpentinite (Table 1, “Alphabetical List of Metamorphic
Rocks” 2000, Marland 1980). You should not list things in the table because
doing so is redundant!
New Hampshire’s igneous rocks were formed by the cooling and
crystallization of magma. Specifically, intrusive igneous rocks are formed below
the earth’s surface from magma in a matter of thousands of years, while
extrusive igneous rocks are formed above the earth’s surface from lava much
quicker (Baxamusa, 2010). New Hampshire’s metamorphic rocks were formed by
extreme heat and pressure deep underground. All metamorphic rocks were
either sedimentary or igneous rocks before, but they change due to the extreme
pressure (Alden). There are no sedimentary rocks in New Hampshire, but they
are formed by weathering and erosion then deposition and lithification, usually
underwater. Things are weathered and eroded and become sediments, then
they are deposited and lithification and packed together to become sedimentary
rocks (Alden).
The formation of the Appalachian Mountains began over 1 billion years
ago. They formed when what is now Africa and North America collided because
of the “oceanic crust subduction”. When the collision happened the land had
almost a huge ripple effect, and the land rose up into what we now call the
Appalachian Mountains (Melikian, 2001).
The organic build-up of ice and snow is called glaciation. Glaciation is
caused by a large change in temperature (Ritter, 2009). Glaciers and glaciation
have a huge affect on rocks. A type of glacial erosion is called “glacial polish”.
When rocks become pushed into the base of a glacier, and it starts to move, the
rocks on the bottom of the body of water are scraped and smoothed down. They
can also become smaller in shape because of this. Another form of erosion
called “glacial striations” makes scratches and ridges on rocks on the bottom of
the body of water from the same rocks pushed into the moving glacier. These
types of erosions can make a rock such as granite fine-grained, or make a rock
like rhyolite course-grained; changing the rocks’ natural attributes (Tab. 1)
(Nelson, 2003).
Study Area: The rock is located in Goffstown High School’s back parking lot
(Fig. 1).
Methods: We observed, described texture, and the recorded our observations of
the rock.
Results: (RESULTS are always past tense) The rock behind the high school is
very large, and the upper portion is about the size of a large snowmobile. Most
of the rock is covered by the tree growing on top of it. It is also covered in dirt,
fallen leaves, and pine needles. The parts of the rock that are visible are of
grayish color, with bits of black specks all around the rock. Some parts of the
rock have a greenish tint to them, moss-like. The rock feels rough, and coursegrained. It has cracks in it, and moss is growing out of it. There seems to be
some shiny mica and quartz speckled on the rock. All of the rocks around this
rock look the same.
Conclusion: In this experiment the learning of rocks, mountains, glaciation,
paraphrasing, text citation, and the determining of what kind of rock is located
behind Goffstown High School took place. (YUCK PASSIVE VOICE!) The
experiment performed was to predict what kind of rock is located behind
Goffstown High School. Observations about the rock were taken, and it was
found that the rock was very large, of grayish color, course-grained, seemed to
have some shiny mica and quartz in it, and the rock had a tree growing out of it
(YUCK PASSIVE VOICE!). Class data taken showed that 17 out of 24 people
believed the rock behind the school was granite (Table 2 – move this to
RESULTS). The rock prediction made in this paper was in agreement with the
other 16 people who predicted the rock was granite (PASSIVE YUCK). While 1
student believed the rock was syenite, another student believed the rock was
quartzite, and 5 students were unknown about the identity of the rock.
There may have been some errors among classmates. Many of the
students may not have had a cell phone or camera to capture photos of the rock,
and had to really upon memory for later recognition. This may have made
students’ predictions less accurate. The objective of the study was to predict
what type of rock was behind the school, and learn about different rocks,
mountains, and glaciation along the way. The objective was obtained with the
research tools such as laptops and books available. With the research done, it
has been as accurately as possibly concluded that the rock behind the school is
an intrusive igneous rock, granite.
There were a few challenges in this lab such as uploading pictures of the
rock to the computers, and creating the map shown in Fig. 1 on the computers.
The uploading of the rock pictures was challenging as it was not known how to
be done, until there was some exploration that took place. This could next time
be avoided easily, as it is now known how to upload the pictures. Creating a
map was difficult because there were many different things to try as to get the
red line in front of the maps, so it was simply a matter of trial and error. This can
be avoided next time, by the instructor telling the students how a map like Fig. 1
can be created.
As the rock found behind Goffstown High School was course, light in
color, and had some quartz minerals in it, it was concluded that the rock behind
the school is granite. This experiment was important in the teaching of how to
identify a rock, and the teaching of the research material. The results simply
implicate the minds of the students researching and writing these scientific
papers, furthering their knowledge of rocks, and other researched material. This
experiment was a complex way of learning about the earth, and about finally
learning what kind of rock is located behind Goffstown High School.
Literature Cited: (You cited things that should all be in one citation)
“Alphabetical List of Igneous Rocks”, 10/16/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/IgnRx/IgAlphabetical.html> 9/29/00
“Alphabetical List of Metamorphic Rocks”, 10/16/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Metaalphab.html >,
10/25/00
Billings, Marland P., The Geology of New Hampshire, Part II, Bedrock Geology,
New Hampshire: The New Hampshire State Planning and Development
Commission, 1980. Ed. 4, pg. viii, ix, 188-200
<http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/pip/publications/geologic/geology.h
tm>
Baxamusa, Batul N., 7/5/10, How are Igneous Rocks Formed, 10/16/10,
<http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-are-igneous-rocks-formed.html>
Alden, Andrew, About Metamorphic Rocks, 10/16/10,
<http://geology.about.com/cs/basics_roxmin/a/aa011804c.htm>
Alden, Andrew, About Sedimentary Rocks, 10/16/10,
<http://geology.about.com/cs/basics_roxmin/a/aa011804b.htm>
Melikian, Michelle, spring 2001, The Appalachian Mountains, 10/16/10,
<http://www.physci.wsc.ma.edu/young/hgeol/geoinfo/timeline/appalachian
s/appalachian.html>
Nelson, Stephen, A., 3/10/10, Metamorphic Rock Textures, 10/18/10,
<http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens212/metatexture.htm>
Ritter, Michael E., 10/1/09, The Physical Environment: and Introduction to
Physical Geography, 10/21/10,
<http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/glacial_systems
/glaciation_causes.html>
Nelson, Stephen A., 10/27/03, Glaciers and Glaciation, 10/21/10,
<http://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/geol111/glaciers.htm>
Alden, Andrew, Granite and Its Geology, 10/20/10,
<http://geology.about.com/od/more_igrocks/a/granite.htm>
Alden, Andrew, Diorite, 10/20/10,
<http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/igrockindex/rocpicdiorite.htm>
Alden, Andrew, Granodiorite, 10/20/10,
<http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/igrockindex/rocpicgranodiorite.htm>
Alden, Andrew, Syenite, 10/20/10,
<http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/igrockindex/rocpicsyenite.htm>
Alden, Andrew, Pegmatite, 10/20/10,
<http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/igrockindex/rocpicpegmatite.htm>
Alden, Andrew, Gabbro, 10/20/10,
<http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/igrockindex/rocpicgabbro.htm>
Alden, Andrew, Rhyolite, 10/20/10,
<http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/igrockindex/rocpicrhyolite.htm>
“Amphibolite #1”, 10/20/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Rocks/Amphibol1.html>,
10/25/00
“Gneiss #1”, 10/20/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Rocks/gneiss1.html>,
10/25/00
“Serpentinite #1, 10/20/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Rocks/serpentinite1.html>,
10/25/00
“Slate #1”, 10/20/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Rocks/slate1.html>,
10/25/00
“Schist #1”, 10/20/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Rocks/schist1.html>,
10/25/00
“Quartzite #1”, 10/20/10,
<http://csmres.jmu.edu/geollab/Fichter/MetaRx/Rocks/quartzite1.html>,
10/25/00
<http://nhmapper.sr.unh.edu/output/GRANIT_BASE_nhmapper.sr.unh.edu67210
467217650771.jpg>
<http://www.freestateproject.org/community/multimedia/images/nh-map1.gif>)
Tables:
Table 1. Descriptions of New Hampshire igneous (Alden 2010) and,
metamorphic rocks (Fichter 2000).
Igneous Rocks
Granite-“Intrusive igneous, quartz and
feldspar minerals, course, light in color”
Metamorphic Rocks
Amphibolite-“Lineated schistose
foliation, plagioclase, quartz, mica
minerals, dark in color, course”
Diorite-“Intrusive igneous, feldspar and Gneiss-“Banded foliation, quartz,
hornblende minerals, light in color,
feldspar, biotite, and amphibole
course”
minerals”
Granodiorite-“Intrusive igneous, course, Serpentinite-“Nondescript rock, dark
biotite, hornblende, plagioclase, and
green to yellow-green in color,
quartz minerals”
magnesium silicate minerals”
Syenite-“Intrusive igneous, course,
Slate-“Slatey cleavage foliation, chlorite
potassium feldspar and plagioclase
minerals, smooth and flat, usually
feldspar minerals, light in color”
green in color”
Pegmatite-“Intrusive igneous, biotite
Schist-“Schistose foliation, quartz,
and alkali feldspar
feldspar, and biotite minerals”
Gabbro-“Intrusive igneous, dark in
Quartzite-“Nondescript rocks, quartz
color, course, plagioclase, amphibole,
sand grain minerals, light in color,
and pyroxene minerals, course”
glassy”
Rhyolite-“Extrusive igneous, usually
dark in color, fine-grained”
Table 2. Class prediction data of the different rock types people believed was
behind the school.
Rock Type
Number of Students
Granite
17
Syenite
1
Quartzite
1
Unknown
5
Figure 1. Study Area: Goffstown High School, Goffstown, NH, USA.
(http://nhmapper.sr.unh.edu/output/GRANIT_BASE_nhmapper.sr.unh.edu67210
467217650771.jpg,
http://www.freestateproject.org/community/multimedia/images/nh-map1.gif)
Figure 2. Small part of rock visible with a greenish tint, next to tree root.
Figure 3. Close-up of rocks texture, a crack and some moss on its side.
Figure 4. Another rock near the main rock, looks the same.