Rocks

Minerals are everywhere! List 5 characteristics of minerals.

List some minerals that can be found in Utah. Use Utah’s Online Library to aid your research. Follow this path: Utah’s Online Library > Ebsco Elementary Schools > Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia. Once you’re at the encyclopedia search page, enter the search term “Utah”. Choose the article named “Utah” that is all about our great state. Amongst the information about Utah, there is a whole section about mineral resources.

What are some physical properties of minerals that can be helpful in identifying them?

About how many minerals can be found on the earth? About how many of these minerals are very common which means that they are found in larger quantities in many places?

The Moh’s Hardness Scale can be used to identify minerals. On the scale, which mineral is #1 which means that it is categorized as very soft? Which mineral is at the top of the scale, #10, which means that it is very hard?

–Our bodies contain minerals. We eat minerals in our foods each day. About how many minerals are part of our healthy bodies?

There are minerals in almost everything! What minerals can be found in toothpaste? In matches? In watches? In your dishwasher? In clocks? In carpet? In your bathtub?

Some minerals on earth are very common and are found throughout the world. Other minerals are very rare and are only found in a few places. Quartz is a mineral that comes in many different colors. It can be green, red, yellow, black, white, gray, blue, and pink. Is it a common or rare mineral?

What is the most abundant mineral on earth?

What is a scientist called who specializes in the study of minerals?

What kind of scientist studies how rocks are made, how they change, where they are found, and how they shape the earth?

What are rocks made of?

What are the three basic types of rocks on the earth?

Which type of rock is formed when molten rock hardens and cools?

What type of rock is formed when existing rock is changed through intense heat and pressure?

What type of rock is formed when layers of sand, silt, pebbles, gravel, and the bodies and shells of dead sea creatures and remains of plants have pressure applied to them over long periods of time?

What is the process called where old rocks become new rocks or one kind rock changes into a different kind of rock?

Igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary --- which of these rock types make up the largest percentage of the earth’s crust?

What is pyrite? Is it a rock or a mineral? What does it look like? What nickname did early miners and prospectors give to it?

What is a volcanic bomb (also called a lava bomb)? What type of rock is it---igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

Are gemstones rocks or minerals?

Flint is a useful sedimentary rock. What are some ways that it was used by ancient peoples?

There were six Apollo moon missions where astronauts landed on the moon. They collected more than 2400 samples of moon rock. All moon rocks are what type of rock---igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

Beaver, Utah has homes that were built in the 1800s that are very unique. What type of rock are these black stones that early pioneers used to build these homes? Are they igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary?

Rock Fun Facts Chart
Are the following rocks igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary? Use the fabulous Online World Book Encyclopedia to find your answers. Go to Utah’s School Online Library and choose World Book. Use the Student edition of this great tool. There is also a Spanish edition of World Book Online. The first example is done for you.

Rock	Igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary	One cool fact about the rock
slate	metamorphic	Slate can easily be split into slabs, and so it’s often used for roof material.
basalt
gneiss
limestone
marble
granite
schist
shale
sandstone
quartzite
obsidian
pumice

Useful Rocks Chart
Rocks are an important building material. Fill in the chart about what you learn about these famous structures. The first structure is done for you.

Structure	In what country?	What kind of rock? (some structures may have more than 1 kind of rock)	Igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary (The website will not tell you if the main building material rock is igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary. You will need to use your geology skills to figure that out.)
Angkor-Wat	Cambodia	sandstone	sedimentary
Taj Mahal
Great Pyramid of Khufu
Mt. Rushmore
Stonehenge
Petra
Washington Monument
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Parthenon
Supreme Court Building
Machu Picchu
Colosseum
Statues of Rapa Nui
Brooklyn Bridge

There are famous cave paintings in Lascaux, France. Scientists think that they were painted many thousands of years ago. These kinds of drawings or paintings are often called rock art. Utah has famous rock art, too! Utah has thousands of examples of petroglyphs and pictographs. What is the difference between a petroglyph and a pictograph? Which of the rock art sites listed here would you most like to visit? Why does the site you chose sound interesting to you?

Red beryl! It’s rare! It’s a beautiful gemstone! It’s very valuable! Red beryl that is large enough to be cut into gemstones has been found in only once place in the world. Where? Hint: Utah residents should be very proud.

What is weathering?

What is erosion?

What are some natural forces that cause weathering and erosion?

The Grand Canyon in Arizona is a showcase for weathering and erosion. Over millions of years, what river carved out this beautiful canyon?

List 5 kinds of general areas where soil erosion is likely to occur.

The Amazon River in South America carries enormous amounts of sediment from weathering and erosion; it deposits about 3 million tons of sediment into the ocean each day. About how much sediment is in the Mississippi River each day? It is obvious that weathering and erosion are powerful forces!

What is soil?

List 5 things that soil is made up of.

What are five factors that influence soil formation? Choose one of the factors and describe it in detail.

Soil contains both organic matter and inorganic matter. Organic matter is living (including microorganisms) and also dead plants and animals. Inorganic matter is materials that have never been alive such as rocks. In a handful of soil in a typical backyard, about how many microscopic lifeforms can be found?