Department of Earth Science |Northeastern Illinois University

INTRODUCTION TO EARTH SCIENCE
ESCI 121

Section 05
Spring 2009

Daily Objectives #8 (February 10, 2009)                                                                                                           Dr. Sanders

By the end of today's class, you should be able to do the following:

Watch footage of Asama erupting!     ► More footage of the volcano is on this YouTube video.
An Asama webcam is here.  (Note: it often doesn't load.)    ► Keep track of what's happening with the Alaska volcano, Mt. Redoubt.

Minerals


w
   Review: List and explain the mineral properties most commonly used to describe/identify minerals:

        ▫  hardness        ▫  luster            ▫  color                 ▫  cleavage         ▫  specific gravity (density) 
        ▫  streak             ▫  taste             ▫  magnetism      ▫  reaction with acid (effervescence or odor)

w
   Review: Demonstrate that you can test an unknown mineral sample for each the mineral properties above, and use a mineral key to identify an unknown sample.

New this time 

w   Define mineral cleavage.

w   Describe mineral cleavage (Beware! There is an error on this page!) in terms of how many planes of cleavage occur and at what angles. 

w   Recognize stair-step or stepped cleavage.  The third diagram on this page shows how it occurs.  While you're here, take a look at the short videos part-way down the page.

Rock Your State!  In-class work

w   Working with 2-3 others, make a list of all the kinds of rocks and sediments found in the states you researched. 

w   Create a master list (using sticky notes) of all the rocks/sediments represented for all the states in your group. 

w   For each item on the list, categorize it as a sediment, igneous rock, sedimentary rock, or metamorphic rock

w   For each type of rock (ig, sed, meta), subdivide the group into smaller classifications. 

w   Put each kind of rock into its classification.

w   For sediments, organize the materials according to some logical principle (what is it?) 

Department of Earth Science | Northeastern Illinois University

© 2009 Laura L. Sanders.  Last updated February 10, 2009.