The Earth in Motion: A Story of Rock Formation Presented by: Jennifer Wickersham Science Instructor Wolfe Middle School Center Line Public Schools April 10, 2010

Time for “A Box of Rocks” Activity Time for “A Box of Rocks”

Teacher ‘s Background Information The Earth’s Crust The outer layer of the earth. About 22 miles thick (35 km) under the continents. About 6 miles thick (10 km) thick under the oceans. The crust is made of ROCK!

What Makes a Rock? Think of a salad… Many ingredients (lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, dressing) make a salad. Individually, the ingredients are ONE type of food.

Rocks are Made of Minerals! Minerals are the “ingredients” of rocks. Alone, they are minerals…together they are rocks!

What Is a Mineral? Solid Inorganic (Not from plants or animals) Naturally Occurring (Not man-made) Crystalline Structure (Specific shape) Definite Chemical Composition (A single substance)

They All Look the Same to Me! Look closely at your sample… Does it appear to be a single substance? It is probably a mineral. Are there many “grains” or clearly more than one substance? It is probably a rock.

Time for “Stories in Stone”! LHS GEMS Teacher Guide Sessions 6, 7, 8

Plate Tectonics…Briefly Teacher ‘s Background Information Plate Tectonics…Briefly There are three basic types of plate movement: Converging (moving together) Diverging (moving apart) Transforming (moving side by side) GEMS “Stories in Stone” presents one type of plate movement – continental to oceanic convergence.

Igneous Rock Intrusive Extrusive Slow cooling inside the crust Key: Formed from magma! Igneous Rock Intrusive Slow cooling inside the crust Larger than sand-sized crystal grains Extrusive Quickly cooling on or above the crust Smaller than sand sized crystal grains or no crystals

Key: Formed by “leftovers”! Sedimentary Rock Key: Formed by “leftovers”! Organic (plants and animals) Clastic (fragments) Chemical (dissolved minerals)

Metamorphic Rock Foliated Non-foliated Crystals are flattened Key: Any pre-existing rock changed chemically and physically by heat and pressure! Metamorphic Rock Foliated Crystals are flattened in parallel bands Layering Non-foliated No parallel bands No Layering

The Rock Cycle

Activity After Stories in Stone… Revisit “A Box of Rocks” with the Classification Chart

Extend It! Journey on the Rock Cycle Activity Student Power Point – Rocks and Minerals Make Plate Tectonic Models Collect Local Rock Samples

Resources www.geology.com Rock Hounds: www.galleries.com/minerals www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/index2.html www.galleries.com/minerals http://www.learner.org/interactives/rockcycle/diagram.html Rock Cycle Diagram: http://www.unificationtheory.com/biology/rock%20cycle.html