Our trip to the Quarry

CCA 6th, 7th and 8th grade class

We had a great trip to the quarry today!  Mr. Buffington gave us a tour and explained the workings of this limestone mining operation within a mile of our school.  We were pleasantly surprised to see great minerals mixed into this common sedimentary rock!  I was so proud to see the students make accurate identifications that would have been impossible for them 3 weeks ago   :).  Our favorite find was "fool's gold", a.k.a. pyrite.  I now have a great collection in my room for us to use in a future project.  Here are some kodak moments...

Mr. Buffington showing us the Quarry

Union Quarries, Inc.

Pyrite!  Click to enlarge...

Thank you Mrs. Schosek, Mrs. Campbell, Ms. Reiten, and Mrs. Stafford for chaperoning the trip!

Ch 3 vocabulary (key terms) MINERALS!!

1. mineral – A naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition.
2.  inorganic – never alive
3.  crystal – a repeating pattern of the mineral's particles which forms a shape
4. streak – the color of the powder of the mineral
5.  luster – how light reflects from the mineral’s surface
6.  Mohs Hardness Scale – ranks the hardness of minerals from 1 to 10
7.  Cleavage – the easy splitting of a mineral along a flat surface
8.  Fracture – how a mineral looks when it breaks
9.  Geode – rounded hollow rock that is often lined with minerals.
10. Crystallization – the process by which atoms line up to form a crystal
11. Magma –underground, molten rock
12.  Lava – above ground, molten rock
13. Solution – one substance dissolved in another
14. Vein – a narrow channel of mineral surrounded by other rock
15. Ore – a rock that contains metal or other useful mineral
16. **Smelting – melting down rock to get the metal out of it
17. **Alloy – a solid mixture of 2 elements, at least one of them is a metal.

** Just 7th and 8th grades

Rocks and Minerals, Chapters 3 and 4

Who doesn't love crystals?  But our contaminated solution gave us unexpected results!  This week we learned about the 5 characteristics of a mineral and how rocks are made up of various minerals.  We studied alum and the amazing crystal structure that it forms.  I made some at home and we appreciated the uniqueness of the shape...

An alum crystal

 ...but when we tried it at school we learned a little about contamination.  With enough time to try the process twice, we still have not found the contaminant.  We did get some interesting crystals though!  The shape of our tells us that Alum is not the only mineral that was present in our water.  Here is a picture of the second attempt by the 7th and 8th graders (3:30 PM Friday)...

This week we are also learning about finding the density of rocks and minerals.  We are using graduated cylinders and a digital scale to figure out the density (g/cm3).  (Sixth grade pictured here)

Mapping the Earth, Chapter 2

This week we wrapped up our lesson on how the Earth is mapped by completing stations.  Students looked at maps and used longitude and latitude to find major cities.  At another station students used a map with contour lines to understand the topography of our area, looking for steep zones and understanding elevation.  Finally we used a kitchen aid to mix salt dough and create our own topographical maps.  Some projects are pictured below.

A topographic map of the school zone @ 40 N and 77 W

Abbey & Hope,  Mark & David 

Madison & John, Josh & Vangie

Seth & Luke, Bethany and Lydia 

(6th grade)- Josiah & Brendan, Mia & Connor