Monday, October 5, 2009

Monday October 5th

Today we started class with both Jay and Nick's current events. Both of their projects are currently posted on the blog. We also began a new unit, Rocks and Minerals.

Here some of the key notes we took on mineral properties:

What is a mineral?

-building block of rocks

-naturally occurring crystalline solid

-specific chemical composition

-predictable properties

-generally inorganic (does not contain carbon)

Examples: quartz, sulfur, graphite, diamond

Properties of minerals:

Color: the color that the mineral appears to the eye in a hand sample

Streak: color that the mineral leaves behind when rubbed on a porcelain tile

Luster: how shiny a mineral appears (metallic-nonmetallic)

Hardness: ease with which a mineral is scratched

Cleavage: planes of weakness along which chemical bonding is weaker

-Strong bonds: poor cleavage

Chemical composition: if it reacts to carbonate minerals

-will bubble

Magnetism: Minerals that react to magnets

-only magnetite

For Homework we were assigned pages 32-36 for reading and need to answer questions 1-9

Tomorrows scribe will be Emily

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