Rocks & Minerals Investigation 3: ROCKS & MINERALS

Let’s learn about Rocks & Minerals: Soils, Rocks, and Landforms: Investigation 3 Rock Cycle Movie

Rocks are classified by: Texture Grain Minerals Color Origin (how they were formed)

TEXTURE how a rock looks and feels determined by the size, shape, and pattern of a rocks grains.

GRAIN –Size -- large, small –Shape --smooth, rough, round jagged –Pattern – rows, waves, swirls, beads or random patterns

MINERAL COMPOSITION –Rocks are made of more than one mineral

ORIGIN How were the rocks formed: - magma - erosion and layering - heat and pressure

Types of Rocks 1. Igneous rocks - formed from the cooling of magma or lava –Lava is magma that reaches the earth’s surface

Types of Rocks 2. Sedimentary rocks - formed from other rocks that are broken into small particles (sediments) and moved by erosion (wind or water) The particles are squeezed or cemented together Rocks are layered

Types of Rocks 3. Metamorphic rocks -formed from other rocks Rocks have been pushed deep into the earth’s crust Pressure from the earth above and heat from the mantle below cause them to change shape, color, grain and crystal structure

Rock cycle

Minerals All minerals : – are created naturally in nature from nonliving solid –have crystal structure –have definite chemical composition

definite crystal structure –particles line up in a regular, repeating pattern. –flat sides called faces, that meet at sharp edges and corners.

Properties of Minerals 1. Color first thing noticed about minerals

Properties of Minerals 2. Hardness A measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched.

Properties of Minerals 3. Density Minerals will have a certain density regardless of the size of the sample. Each mineral has its own density called specific gravity

Properties of Minerals 4. Luster The way a mineral reflects light. Can be metallic or non-metallic. Shiny or dull. waxy, pearly, glassy. This is a gem stone called tourmaline it has a glassy luster

Properties of Minerals 5. Streak The color of its powder. Not always the same as the color of the mineral.