SGI Lesson 3 By: Mrs. Bochert 2011 EARTH MATERIALS

Scenario The geologist was very impressed by the way you identified the minerals using the scratch test. He was so impressed that he gave me a box that had three more minerals. Unfortunately, he forgot to tell me which mineral was which. He said that geologists look at special properties of minerals in order to identify them. He already knows that you discovered one of the seven minerals we have in the bag could be quartz, because it was the hardest of your four minerals in the bag. It scratches all of the other three minerals in the bag. The softest mineral you already discovered in the bag was gypsum. He said one of the new minerals we had is feldspar which is also a hard mineral and is harder than the mineral fluorite. One of the other new minerals is called mica which looks like a stack of flexible sheets of paper that can be peeled. He also said that one of the new minerals is called hornblende which in addition to its hardness, it is attracted to magnets. He also thinks we have a soft mineral which is the only one that bubbles with vinegar and leaves a crystal residue when the liquid evaporates. What is the problem here?

Word Wall Hardness: mineral property that refers to the resistance of a mineral to being scratched. Mineral: basic earth materials that make up rocks and cannot be physically broken down further.

Focus Question: How can we help identify the minerals in our bag?

Prediction I think that if we …

Class Prediction: I think if we first test the minerals with the magnet, vinegar and check for the one that looks like a stack of sheets of paper, then scratch the other four with each other, and then with the penny, paper clip and fingernail, we will be able to identify them because according to geologists each mineral has it own special property that can be used to identify them.

How Will You Record Your Findings/Data? Discuss how you plan to keep record of your findings as you investigate the properties of the minerals. You already have some information about four of these minerals from the scratch test you conducted in lesson 2. How can you use this data in your new chart? As you discuss also decide on who will test what. Everyone in the team should take turns testing the minerals. It is very important you test one property at a time. I have assigned a number to the minerals (1-7) to make it easier to share the results as a class later during the making meaning conference. Be ready to share your ideas with the class.

IDENTIFYING A MINERAL BY SPECIFIC PROPERTIES Mineral # Magnetic Property? Yes/No Fizzles with Vinegar? Yes/No Looks Like Stacks of Paper? Yes/No Hardness Test: Scratches All Other Minerals? Yes/No Hardness Test: Penny Makes a Scratch? Yes/No Hardness Test: Fingernail Makes a Scratch? Yes/No Hardness Test: Paperclip Makes a Scratch? Yes/No

Additional Information Before Testing Today you will perform the tests to identify the minerals. The minerals are clearly labeled with their corresponding number. Handle one mineral sample at a time to avoid mix ups. You will test the minerals with vinegar last. The geologist called me last night and he mentioned one more important property we should also consider when identifying minerals. It is known as the streak color test. According to this test, minerals leave a color mark on a white piece of tile. You should use your hand lens to carefully observe the color of the streak. This is another way geologists test properties of minerals. I have a piece of tile for each group to investigate this. Add another column to your data table and record the streak color for each mineral as I test it. When you are done all of these tests we will do the vinegar test to detect for calcite. Make sure everyone in your team records the information.

Streak Test I will show you how to do the streak test.

Vinegar Testing Now you are ready for the vinegar test. You will use the evaporating dishes to test each sample. You will use 5 drops of vinegar to test each mineral. Leave any liquid to check for crystal residues later. We will let it evaporate in order to observe crystals residue tomorrow. Place the dish on the numbered sheet of paper so we know which mineral it is.

Leave liquid overnight… We will check for residues later!

Hmmm…. Why did this happen? By accident I left one of the pipettes with vinegar on my desk, I noticed that some drops fell on some piece of chalk I had. When I looked it over it was making bubbles. Discuss with your group a possible explanation for this and be ready to share.

Read “Mining for Minerals” Pgs in FOSS Science Stories Book Make a list of the minerals and record how they are used and how they are mined. MineralUsed ForMined and Processed GOLD GYPSUM BAUXITE (Aluminum) IRON

Read “Mining for Minerals” Pgs in FOSS Science Stories Book Make a list of the minerals and record how they are used and how they are mined. MineralUsed ForMined and Processed GOLDMake coins & jewelry, dentistry, medicine Screening stream water beds GYPSUMMaking plaster of Paris to be used in casts, ceramics, statues, and wallboards Removing layers of mud or soil, gravel and rocks BAUXITE (Aluminum)Build bridges, coats, cars, aircrafts, bicycles, wire, insulation, cans, kitchenware, & foil wrap Dug out with rotary buckets, separated with heat, electricity and a chemical process IRONTo make steelPlanes have magnetometers to detect large iron deposits

Discuss these questions with your table. Do not write anything down at this time.) Analyze why was it important to determine the hardness in minerals? What claim can we make about a mineral’s visible color and its streak color? What does the data tell us about the similar properties between hornblende and feldspar?

Here are some claims. Can you write the evidences? ClaimsEvidence Ex.) I claim that… I know that… Ex.) I claim this because… I know this because… 1. I claim that quartz is a hard mineral. 2. I claim that color is not a good property to use to identify minerals. 3. I know that testing minerals on several special properties makes it easier to identify them. 4. I claim that mica is a mineral with a special property that makes it easy to identify. Now write some claims and evidence of your own!

Here are some claims. Can you write the evidences? ClaimsEvidence Ex.) I claim that… I know that… Ex.) I claim this because… I know this because… 1. I claim that quartz is a hard mineral.1. I claim this because it made a scratch on all of the minerals in the bag. 2. I claim that color is not a good property to use to identify minerals. 2. I claim this because quartz and calcite were both white but the paper clip and penny scratched the calcite and not the quartz. 3. I know that testing minerals on several special properties makes it easier to identify them. 3. I know this because we tested for fizzing. We knew calcite was the only one that could do it, and testing for magnet attraction helped us identify hornblende. Testing for hardness helped us determine which mineral was harder than the others. 4. I claim that mica is a mineral with a special property that makes it easy to identify. 4. I claim this because mica peels. It is made of stacked sheets that can easily be removed.

Claims and Evidence ClaimsEvidence Ex.) I claim that… I know that… Ex.) I claim this because… I know this because… Don’t forget to add your own claims and evidence to the chart!

Conclusion 1. Change your focus question into a declarative sentence. Instead of : How can we help identify the minerals in our bag? Take out the word “how” and it will begin like: We can identify the minerals in our bag by… 2. Next, state if your prediction was correct or incorrect and why.

Next Questions: This is where you think about the questions you still have after today’s lesson. What if…? What about…? I wonder… ? I want to know more about…? A new question I have now is… ?

Assessment Rubric Click on the link to take you to the rubric. You will have to scroll down to pg. 11.rubric. How thorough were you with your science journal?