Virginia Department of Education
Mineral Identification
What's the difference between a rock and a mineral? And what properties are used to identify minerals? The first installment of a five-part series on earth materials and processes prompts young scientists to identify a set of...
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Virginia Rocks and Minerals
Students explore, via a CD-ROM, the Virginia's five geological regions and discover the rocks and minerals located in each. In stone kits, they examine samples of rocks and minerals and answer questions about them. After discovering the...
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Physical Properties of Minerals
Students study minerals and their physical properties. In this mineral lesson students use technology to investigate minerals and their properties.
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Specific Gravity of Nevada Minerals
Students determine the specific gravity of Nevada minerals by testing them three separate times. They follow specific directions listed in the lesson plan as how to measure the minerals.
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Sediment Sleuths
Students classify sediments based on their physical characteristics, such as size, shape and color. They identify and describe rocks and minerals that are common to their region of the state.
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Sediment Sleuths
Are you looking for a good, solid activity on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a activity. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing sediments from local water...
Science Friday
How Boulders Are Born
Want your class to rock? Then try this boulder activity. Pupils learn about a specific boulder field and use edible materials to demonstrate the geological processes that formed this unique feature. Weathering, erosion, and mass wasting...
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BOWEN'S REACTION SERIES
Students research Bowen's Reaction Series and recreate the process in an experiment which details the crystallization sequence of minerals that can be observed in nature.
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Geology Quiz Worksheet
In this geology quiz worksheet, students answer 10 fill-in-the-blank questions about geology. They answer questions about types of rocks, hardness, and mineral attributes. They check their work with the answers at the bottom of the page.