Unit 1 Assignment

.docx

School

Eastern Gateway Community College *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

111

Subject

Geology

Date

Jan 9, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by GeneralSalmon1082

GEL111 - Earth Science 1 Rocks and Mineral Identification by Characteristics Steps GEL111 - Earth Science Unit 1 Assignment Professor Kinyo

GEL111 - Earth Science 2 Today, you and a friend will be hiking along the Merced River in the Sierra Nevada. As you walk, you will see sparkling golden stones at the water's edge. If you think back to your high school history class, you might remember that James Wilson Marshall discovered gold leaf here in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush (History.com Editors, 2021). The question is, did you strike it rich? The following steps will help you decide if your minerals will make you laugh all the way to the bank, or if the bank will make you laugh "silly" with fake gold. Step 1 . Find and collect all the materials you need to perform tests that will help you identify each mineral. Materials needed for this activity:  Mineral and/or rock sample  Paper and pencil  Streak plate or unglazed tile  Scale (Digital or analog)  A penny  Steel blade (Metal knife)  Compass  Water  Soft bristle toothbrush  Bowl large enough for the mineral sample  String

GEL111 - Earth Science 3  Hammer Step 2 . Draw a table graph on a piece of paper for each sample you want to test. The table should consist of 11 rows and 2 columns. Each row in the first column names one of the 11 tests to be performed. Leave the second column blank so you can write down your test results. Leave space for notes that may be important to the identification process. Step 3 . Remove the rubber duck and add clean tap water. Specimens must have the correct shape, color and luster to be easily recognized. Using a toothbrush, gently brush the sample with water. Remove any dust or debris that may obscure the test results. Allow the specimen to dry before performing the test. Step 4 . First, the luster of the mineral sample should be checked. We chose this test to ensure that the surface of the mineral is not altered by other tests. This gives the best results when testing minerals. To measure luster, look at how light reflects off each mineral sample. Luster refers to the overall gloss of the mineral surface and has nothing to do with color (Key to Mineral Identification, 2003a). Record the level of gloss you observe in the appropriate row of the table. (eg matte, glass, metal, etc.) Step 5 . This is the life of a hard rocker. The hardness of a mineral sample should be determined using the Mohs hardness scale. The Mohs scale of hardness is known as relative hardness and is used to compare the hardness of a material with the previously known hardness of the material (Mineral Identification Key, 2003b). This is a scratch test. Use mineral samples to shave nails, coins and steel blades. If a mineral sample doesn't scratch your nail, you'll know its hardness is less than 2.5. This is because we know that nails are 2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. When the mineral pattern scratches a steel blade, you can see that its hardness is greater than 5.5.

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