Thirsty Rocks: Please "Porous" a Drink!

A simple activity goes a long way in demonstrating the property of porosity to your rock hounds. They will mass a specimen of dry sandstone and then soak it in a pre-measured amount of water. After seven minutes, they once again measure the mass of the rock and the volume of the water left behind. Older learners can calculate the percent gained and compare it to the results from other lab groups. This is an advantageous activity when your class is focusing on the properties of sedimentary rock or even the water cycle.

Concepts

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properties of rocks, rocks, sedimentary rocks, aquifers, groundwater, permeability, porosity, sandstone, the water cycle

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Additional Tags

aquifer, groundwater, sedimentary rock, water cycle, permeability, pore space, porosity, properties of rocks, sandstone, science

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Resource Details

Grade

4th - 10th

Subjects

Science

2 more...

Resource Type

Lesson Plans

Audience

For Teacher Use

Duration

1 hr

Instructional Strategy

Inquiry-Based Learning

Technology

Calculator

Scientific Equipment

Usage Permissions

Creative Commons

BY-NC-SA: 3.0