• Unit Two-Minerals, Rocks, and Resources
    What You'll Learn 1:
    • How minerals form, and which are the most common in Earth's crust.
    • Which properties can be used to identify and classify minerals.
    • Why certain minerals are ores and gems.
    Why Its Important 1:
    Many products used in daily life are made directly or indirectly form minerals.  Minerals also play a vital role int processes that shape Earth.  Some minerals form crystals that are valued for their beauty.

    Key Vocabulary 1:
    mineral
    		crystal
    		magma
    silicate
    		luster
    		streak
    hardness
    		cleavage
    		fracture
    specific gravity
    		ore
    		gem

    Key Concepts/Objectives 1:
    • Define mineral.
    • Describe how minerals form.
    • Identify the most common elements in Earth's crust.
    • Classify minerals according to their physical and chemical properties.
    • Identify different types of minerals.
    • Discuss how minerals are used.
    What You'll Learn 2:
    • How magma melts and crystallizes to form igneous rocks.
    • How igneous rocks are classified.
    • How igneous rocks are used.
    Why Its Important 2:

    Igneous rocks are the most abundant rocks in Earth's crust.  Many important mineral and metal deposits are associated with igneous rocks.

    Key Vocabulary 2:
    igneous rock
    		lava
    		extrusive
    intrusive
    		partial melting
    		fractional crystallization
    Bowen's reaction series
    		felsic
    		mafic
    ultramafic
    		porphrytic
    		pegmatite
    kimberlite



    Key Concepts/Objectives 2:
    • Compare and contrast intrusive and extrusive rocks.
    • Describe the composition of magma.
    • Discuss the factors that affect how rocks melt and crystallize.
    • Classify different types and textures of igneous rocks.
    • Recognize the effects of cooling rates on the grain sizes of igneous rocks.
    • Describe some uses of igneous rocks.

    What You'll Learn 3:
    • How sedimentary rocks are formed.
    • How metamorphic rocks are formed.
    • How rocks continuously change from one type to another in the rock cycle.
    Why Its Important 3:
    Sedimentary rocks provide information about surface conditions and organisms that existed in Earth's past.  In addition, mineral resources are found in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks.  The rock cycle further provides evidence that Earth is a dynamic planet, constantly evolving and changing.

    Key Vocabulary 3:
    bedding
    		cementation
    		clastic
    cross-bedding
    		depositon
    		graded bedding
    lithification
    		sediment
    		clastic sedimentary rock
    evaporite
    		porosity
    		contact metamorphism
    foliated
    		hydrothermal metamorphism
    		nonfoliated
    porphyroblast
    		regional metamorphism
    		rock cycle

    Key Concepts/Objectives 3:
    • Sequence the formation of sedimentary rocks.
    • Explain the formation and classification of clastic sediments.
    • Describe features of sedimentary rocks.
    • Describe the types of clastic sedimentary rocks.
    • Explain how chemical sedimentary rocks form.
    • Describe organic sedimentary rocks.
    • Recognize the importance of sedimentary rocks.
    • Compare and contrast the different types and causes of metamorphism.
    • Distinguish among metamorphic textures.
    • Explain how mineral and compositional changes occur during metamorphism.
    • Understand how rocks continuously change from one type to another in the rock cycle.

Last Modified on February 23, 2015