Rocks Are Made up of One Or More Pure Crystalline (Crystal) Materials Called Minerals

Name: ______

Unit E – Planet Earth

Topic 1 – Minerals

The “crust” is a shell of rock surrounding our planet that consists of metals, gems, oil, coal, gas, etc. The best way to define rock is to say that it is a mixture of naturally occurring substances, mainly minerals.

Rocks may range in size from tiny pebbles to huge mountains. Rocks make up the earth’s crust. Many rocks are not solid -- such as magma, soil, and clay. In general, the only people interested in rocks are geologists and paleontologists who are interested in the scientific nature and dating of the rocks. Oh, and us students in Science 7, of course!

Rocks are made up of one or more pure crystalline (crystal) materials called minerals.

Log into a computer and complete the following steps:

1)Go to the following website: “mineralogy4kids.org”

2)Click on “Mineral Properties” – the green icon

3)On the right hand side, click on “hardness”

a)The hardness of a mineral is its ability to resist ______.

b)The scale that is used to determine “hardness” is called the ______scale.

c)Based on the scale, a copper penny could scratch the following four types of minerals: ______, ______, ______, & ______.

d)The mineral that ranks the highest in “hardness” is ______.

4)Go back to “properties” and click on “streak”.

a)The streak of a mineral is the ______of powder left on the streak plate when a mineral is ______across it.

b)Streak is most useful in indentifying m______materials. Non-metallic minerals usually leave a ______streak because they are light-coloured.

5)Go back to “properties” and click on “colour”.

a)Minerals are coloured because certain wave lengths of ______are absorbed, and these wave lengths eventually reach the eye.

b)Though colour is one of the first things people notice about a mineral, it is NOT the most useful because ______.

6)Go back to “properties” and click on “cleavage”.

a)Cleavage is the ability of a mineral to ______along preferred planes.

7)Go back to “properties” and click on “luster”.

a)Luster refers to how ______is reflected from a surface of a ______. A mineral that is like glass, where it allows light to pass right through it, is called ______.

8)Click on the “Crystals” tab at the top of the page.

a)Crystals are ______that form by a regular repeated pattern of ______connected together.

b)A mineral will only form crystals if: ______.

9)Next, click on the “In your house” tab at the top of the page.

Choose one of the objects commonly found around the house, and fill out the following information.

Name of Household Object / Mineral(s) it’s made of (list up to 3) / Mineral
colours / Hardness rank (Moh Scale) / Streak Colour
1.
2.
3. / 1.
2.
3. / 1.
2.
3. / 1.
2.
3.

ONLINE TASK COMPLETE! RESEARCH THE MOST COMMON MINERALS FOUND NEAR ALBERTA. LIST 5 OF THEM BELOW.