The Geosphere: Minerals & rocks

Visit the following interactive website to learn more about the major layers of the Earth and their characteristics. WEBSITE--->Inside the Earth Interactive (printed copies available)

Differences between oceanic and continental CRUSTS

Resultado de imagen de interior of the earth layers foldable printable pdf free

Can you write a sentence relating the density of the layers of the Earth and its position in reference to the center?

Earth's interior layers are ordered by density. The densest layer is the solid metal inner core, the mantle is of intermediate density, and the least dense layer is the crust

The lighter layers are closer to the surface.

The

(origin: https://sites.google.com/a/rsu18.org/mrsripascience/home/earth-science)

More lab and activity resource for Earth Science: http://mjksciteachingideas.com/pdf/

EARTH´S INTERIOR
VIDEO
AND QUESTIONS

Which crust is thicker the oceanic or the continental?
Which layer of the Earth amounts about the 85% of the total mass of the planet?
Which layer of the Earth is made up of molten materials called lava?
Which layer of the Earth is made up of Iron and Nickel?
Which layer of the Earth occupies less than 1% of its volume?
Which one is the hottest part of the Earth?

GEOSPHERE _ Video and MINERAL DEFINITION

Periodic Table

Around 99% of the minerals in the Earth's crust are made up of eight elements including oxygen, silicon, aluminum, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium.

Minerals

What is a mineral?

Minerals are solid, pure and naturally occuring substances. More precisely, a mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid, with a definite chemical composition, and an ordered atomic arrangement.

MINERAL:

Natural
Inorganic
Solid
Definite chemical composition.
Crystal structure (usually)

Properties of Minerals

( info from: http://www.ducksters.com/science/earth_science/minerals.php)

Color - Although color is often used to describe a mineral, it sometimes isn't the best way to tell one mineral from another as one type of mineral can come in several different colors.
Streak colour - Streak is the color of the mineral in powdered form. One way to determine the streak is to rub the mineral across a rough hard surface like a tile.
Lustre - Luster describes how well a mineral reflects light. Examples of luster include glassy, metallic, brilliant, and dull.
Crystal habit- the characteristic external shape that a crystal or aggregate of crystals typically forms
Cleavage - Cleavage describes how a mineral breaks up into pieces. Some minerals break up into small cubes while others may break up into thin sheets.
Density- (or Specific Gravity) - The specific gravity measures the density of the mineral. It is measured in comparison to water where water has a specific gravity of 1.

For example, pyrite has a specific gravity of 5 and quartz has a specific gravity of 2.7.

Hardness - The hardness describes how easy it is to scratch the surface of a mineral.

Mohs scale

Scientists often use the Moh's scale to describe hardness. Using the Moh's scale, a "1" is the softest mineral and a "10" is the hardest. One example of hardness is diamond. Diamond has a hardness of 10 because it is the hardest of all the minerals.

Resultado de imagen de properties of minerals

Can you recognize these minerals?

Can you order them according to its hardness?

-Classification of Minerals- EXTENDED CURRICULUM

There are many different types of minerals, but they are often divided into two groups:

silicates and non-silicates.

SILICATES are minerals that contain silicon and oxygen. Over 90% of the Earth's crust is made up of silicates.

The rest of the minerals are lumped into a group called non-silicates. EX: Quartz

NON-SILICATE minerals include:

Carbonates - Carbonates contain carbonate (CO3) combined with some other element. Calcite is a mineral made from carbonate and calcium. EX: calcite
Chlorides - they contain a halogen element as the main element. Table salt (NaCl) is a halide mineral made from the halogen chlorine (Cl) and sodium (Na). EX: Halite (salt)
Oxides - Oxides are minerals where the main element is oxygen. Chromite is an oxide mineral made from iron, chromium, and oxygen. EX: Hematite
Sulfides - Sulfides contain sulfur and one or more metals or semimetals. Pyrite is a sulfide made from iron and sulfur. EX: Pyrite
Sulfates. EX: Gypsum
Native elements such as copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Aluminium (Al), gold(Au), diamond, graphite, and sulfur can be thought of as a third group of minerals.

(http://www.ducksters.com/science/earth_science/minerals.php)

Resultado de imagen de types of minerals native silicates

Rocks.

Rocks are classified into three basic types based on how they are formed.

Igneous - A rock formed by the cooling and crystallization of magma (molten rock) at or below the Earth's surface.

- Lava cooled on the surface forms the EXTRUSIVE or Volcanic igneous rocks

- Magma cooled inside the Earth forms the INTRUSIVE or Plutonic igneous rocks

Sedimentary - A rock formed as a result of the weathering process, either by compaction and cementation of rock mineral fragments, or the precipitation of dissolved minerals.
Metamorphic - These rocks form as existing rocks are subjected to intense heat and/or pressure, usually over long periods of time.

Can you recognize these rocks?