Geology: Introduction to Classifying Rocks
Kaitlyn McEnrue
LVS Earth Science
Thursday, July 9th and Friday, July 10th
I.
Objectives
 Students will be able to classify rocks based on their physical properties:
hardness, streak color, luster, and magnetism.
 Students will be able to identify the key characteristics of rocks and what
makes them similar/different from one another.
 Students will be able to determine if rocks contain carbonate.
II.
Materials
 Various rocks
 Pencil and paper
 Penny
 Paper clip
 Small paper cups
 Piece of glass or mirror
 Chalk
 Vinegar
 Paper or plastic bag
 Access to a concrete sidewalk
 Eyedropper
 Masking tape
III.
Procedure
Thursday, July 9th
 Attendance (1 minute)
 Warm-up (5 minutes)
- Fact of the Day: Once centered in Africa, diamond production
now occurs on all continents except Europe and Antarctica.
- Warm-up question: Is every rock the same? Why or why not?
- Students will write down their answers and share them with the
class. I will list key characteristics that they may mention on the
board.
 Activity (35 minutes)
- After the students have discussed the warm-up question, I will
introduce the lesson to the class. Today will be the start of a two
day lesson that will lead to the introduction of the three primary
classification of rocks.
- The students will participate in a rock scavenger hunt around the
grounds of the school (if possible, it would be neat to take them
to Monocacy creek/park!! Please let me know how I go about
doing this). The students will be required to find 1 large rock, 1
small rock, 1 pretty rock, 1 unusual rock, and 1 rock that has two
or more colors. Each student will receive a paper bag to put their
rocks in. Each student must write their name on their bags.
- When students return to the classroom, they will label their rocks
by using masking tape.
- I anticipate that this portion of the lesson will take the full 35
minutes. By the time I explain the directions, take them outside,
have them search for rocks to fit the descriptions mentioned, and
bring them back inside to label their rocks, time will be limited.
Closure (4 minutes)
- I am interested in seeing what the students think they will be
doing with the rocks. So, they will be filling out an exit card that
has them predict what they will be doing tomorrow.
Homework- Introduction to Geology worksheet.
Friday, July 10th
o Attendance (1 minute)
o Warm-up (5 minutes)
- Fact of the day: Throughout history, men have fought wars and
conquered empires just to obtain gold.
- Warm- Up question: What are some ways that we can classify
rocks? The students will share their answers when they are
finished.
o Activity (35 minutes)
- After the warm-up question has been discussed, the students will
receive their bags filled with the rocks that they found the
previous day. Each rock should still be labeled.
- Students will then receive a chart in which they will have to
perform a number of experiments on the rocks to determine the
various characteristics. Despite the fact that each student should
have different rocks, the students may work in pairs to complete
this portion to collaborate and discuss their findings.
- The first thing that the students will do is they will attempt to
scratch their rocks with their fingernail, penny, and paper clip.
They will also attempt to scratch the rocks with a piece of glass
(if available). If the rocks can be scratched by the fingernail,
penny, or paper clip, then the rock is considered soft. If the rock
scratches the glass, then it is considered to be hard. The point of
this portion is to test the hardness of each rock.
- Next, I will be taking the students outside to the sidewalk. The
students will stroke each of their rocks across the sidewalk to see
if they leave streaks. The rock will only leave a streak if the
concrete is harder then the rock, The students will record their
answers. We do this to classify the rocks by streak color.
- I will then bring the students inside. They will then test their
rocks for the presence of carbonate. Each student will receive a
o
-
o
piece of chalk and a small cup of vinegar. By using an
eyedropper, the student will drop a small amount of vinegar on
the chalk and watch it fizz. The fizz indicates the presence of
carbonate. Then, the students will drop a small amount of
vinegar on each of their rocks. They will record whether or not
the rocks fizz.
Students will share their results with the rest of the class when
they are finished. I will collect their charts and put them in their
portfolios.
Closure (4 minutes)
I will ask the students if any of their results surprised them. I
will also ask the students why they think it is important to be able
to classify rocks. (the might respond by saying that rocks help us
discover what happened in the past, and different rocks can tell
us different things. )
Homework: The students will be completing a homework
assignment that discusses the four main ways to classify rocks:
Hardness, Streak Color, Luster, and Magnetism.
Name:___________________________________________ Date:______________
Rock Classification Chart
Answer the questions below!
1. Form a Hypothesis! Write one hypothesis for each of your rocks below.
Do you think they will be hard or soft? Do you think they will make a streak?
Do you think carbonate will be present?
Rock 1-____________________________________________________
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Rock 2-___________________________________________________
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Rock 3-___________________________________________________
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Rock 4-___________________________________________________
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Rock 5-___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Record your results in the chart below. Write yes in the box if it occurs, and
no if it does not.
fingernail
Rock 1
Rock 2
Rock 3
Rock 4
Rock 5
penny
Paper clip
glass
streak
carbonate
Analyze your results! Was your hypothesis correct? If so, write “yes” next
to the rock. If not, write why it was not correct.
Rock 1-___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Rock 2-__________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Rock 3-___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Rock 4-___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Rock 5-___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Name:______________________________ Date:_____________
Introduction to Geology Homework!
Directions: Throughout this portion of the unit, you are going to be a Geologist! But
before you can be a Geologist, you have to understand what Geologist do. Read the
segments below and answer the questions.
Definition of Geology:
Geology is the study of the Earth, the materials of which it is made, the structure of those
materials, and the processes acting upon them. It includes the study of organisms that
have inhabited our planet. An important part of geology is the study of how Earth’s
materials, structures, processes and organisms have changed over time.
What Does a Geologist Do?
Geologists work to understand the history of our planet. The better they can understand
Earth’s history the better they can foresee how events and processes of the past might
influence the future. Here are some examples:
Geologists study earth processes: Many processes such as landslides, earthquakes, floods
and volcanic eruptions can be hazardous to people. Geologists work to understand these
processes well enough to avoid building important structures where they might be
damaged. If geologists can prepare maps of areas that have flooded in the past they can
prepare maps of areas that might be flooded in the future. These maps can be used to
guide the development of communities and determine where flood protection or flood
insurance is needed.
Geologists study earth materials: People use earth materials every day. They use oil that
is produced from wells, metals that are produced from mines, and water that has been
drawn from streams or from underground. Geologists conduct studies that locate rocks
that contain important metals, plan the mines that produce them and the methods used to
remove the metals from the rocks. They do similar work to locate and produce oil, natural
gas and ground water.
Geologists study earth history: Today we are concerned about climate change. Many
geologists are working to learn about the past climates of earth and how they have
changed across time. This information is valuable to understand how our current climate
is changing and what the results might be.
1. What is the definition of Geology? _________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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2. What three things do Geologists study?______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. Why do Geologists study volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes, floods?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Why do Geologists study Earth materials? ___________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. Why do Geologists study Earth history?_____________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Name:______________________________________________ Date:_______________
Classification Homework
1. Name three ways to classify rocks.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. You can also classify your rocks by Luster. When doing this, you look at a rock that
appears to be metallic (looks like metal) or non-metallic (does not look like metal). Look
at your lab that you completed and classify your rocks according to luster. Write down
which ones were metallic, and which were non-metallic.
________________________________________________________________________
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