Transcript Mineralogy 4th grade minerals experiment Jim Hower, [email protected] University of Kentucky, Center for Applied Energy Research 2540 Research Park Dr., Lexington, KY 40511 859-257-0261

Mineralogy
4th grade minerals experiment
Jim Hower, [email protected]
University of Kentucky,
Center for Applied Energy Research
2540 Research Park Dr., Lexington, KY 40511
859-257-0261
Overview
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Experiment Objectives
Materials
Procedure
General Observations and
Helpful Hints
• Resources
Experiment Objective
To learn the physical features we
can use to identify minerals.
Materials Needed
Mineral kits from Wards:
Hardness
Fracture
Luster
Streak
Also: Limestone and dilute HCl
Procedure
Start by asking students what
features they would use to tell
one mineral from another:
Examples might be color, mass,
fracture, taste (but discourage
them from tasting minerals),
etc.
Procedure
Set up a number of stations and
have students rotate through
(maybe 10 min each station)
This way the size of the groups
is small and everyone has a
chance to observe and ask
questions.
Helpful Hints &
Observations
Testing limestone and other rocks
with HCl has proven to be a
popular station.
Have non-limestone rocks
available and have students
guess which ones will react.
They will want to put the HCl on
their skin, discourage this.
Resources for Minerals
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State Geological Surveys
Ward's Scientific www.wardsci.com
Internet sites such as www.webmineral.com
(excellent resource and good links to
everywhere else in the mineral world)
• Local rock and mineral trade shows