Clue 1 - Igneous rocks - Station 2     Recognizing minerals vs. rocks
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
8:38 AM
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Station #3 - Atoms, crystals, minerals, and rocks
How are atoms, crystals, minerals, and rocks related? 
Observe each set of rocks and objects and explore how atoms, crystals, minerals and rocks are related.
Station 3A
Crystals vs. minerals in a rock 
For your science notebook:
3A.a   Which sample has the fewest number of crystals? 
3A.b   Which sample has the greatest number of crystals? 
3A.c   How many types of minerals are in Sample #2? 
3A.d   About how many crystals are in Sample #1? 
3A.e   Which sample has the greatest number of minerals? 
Link:  How and where mineral crystals grow as igneous rocks form. 
Link:  Two adjacent crystals of the same type. 
Samples at this station:
 Inside basalt 
a Clue!
"Each speckle in an igneous rock is an individual crystal. 
Solid crystals form out of liquid magma as it cools, sort of like ice forming out of water in a freezer. 
Crystals start small and grow bigger from the inside out to their finished size. They grow of the the water and magma itself so that after they form, there is no liquid water or magma left. 
In a rock, speckles that look the same are made up of the same type of mineral. These crystal speckless grew in a magma or lava as it cooled. 
After magma and lava become totally cool, crystals grow and begin to run out of space. They form an interlocking pattern. 
- the Earthlings 