Lesson Plan in Earth and Life Science

(Earth Science Lesson 6: Minerals and Rocks)

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Date: __________________

I. OBJECTIVES
(K) Enumerate the different properties of minerals.
(S) Identify common rock-forming minerals using their physical properties (S11/12ES-Ia-
9).
(A) Assess the significant contributions of minerals in our daily life.
II. SUBJECT MATTER
A. Topics: Minerals and Rocks
B. Reference: Earth and Life Science TG pp. 46-55
C. Materials: TG, AV facilities, presentation slides, rock samples, triple beam balance
Water, beaker, PE bags, flashlight, glass, glass cutter
III. PROCEDURE
Preparatory Activities (3 min)
 Attendance checking
 Follow-up on assignments
Communicate learning objectives (2 min)
Introduce the following learning objectives using the suggested protocols (Verbatim,
Own Words, Read-aloud)
A. I can identify and describe the different properties of minerals.
B. I can group the minerals based on physical properties.
C. I can identify several common rock-forming minerals.

1. ELICIT (5 min)
Tip:
Cite examples of minerals used in our daily lives: halite (salt) for cooking, graphite
(pencil) for writing, diamond and gold as jewelry, etc.

Short Demo
What equipment do we use to cut a piece of glass?
Answer: Glass cutter made up of diamond

Five important properties which define a mineral (Diagnostic test)

Mineral — a naturally occurring (not man-made or machine generated), inorganic (not a
byproduct of living things) solid with an orderly crystalline structure and a definite
chemical composition. Minerals are the basic building blocks of rocks.
A. Do you consider water a mineral?
Answer: No. It is not solid and crystalline.
B. How about snowflake, or tube ice? Are these minerals?
Answer: Tube ice is not a mineral, because it is not naturally occurring. But a
snowflake possesses all the properties under the definition of a mineral.

2. ENGAGE (15 min)

Activity 1 – PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS (Simultaneous Activities)
Color of Rocks/Cleavage/Luster/Hardness/Crystal Form/Habit/Streak/Specific
Gravity
A. GROUPING ROCK SAMPLES ACCORDING TO OUTSIDE COLOR

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 1. Put the collected rock samples to the table labelled with sample colors.
NOTE: Remember your rock sample.
2. Then retrieve back your rock samples.
3. Place each sample inside the transparent plastic and label each as #1, #2, …etc.
4. Indicate its color.
B. REGROUPING ROCK SAMPLES ACCORDING TO COLOR INSIDE
1. Break the rock samples using your hammer. Do it outside the classroom.
Reminder: DO NOT FORGET TO WEAR YOUR CLEAR GOOGLES.
2. Assign one (1) member to do it.
3. Place all broken parts in its original plastic bag.
4. Do it one at a time.
5. Indicate its color inside.

C. GROUPING ROCK SAMPLES THAT EXHIBIT CLEAVAGE/FRACTURE

1. Group rock samples that exhibit cleavage and another group which exhibit fractures
2. Place the broken samples in a transparent PE plastic bag.
3. Post your output on the chalkboard/wall.

D. GROUPING ROCK SAMPLES BASED ON LUSTER

1. Indicate the type if the rock samples exhibit luster such as any of the following, but
not limited to:
a. metallic luster - resplendent shine similar to a polished metal
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like), resinous,
silky, pearly, dull (earthy), greasy, among others
2. Use cellphone flashlight to illuminate the sample.
3. Place a small sample inside the plastic bag and post it.

E. GROUPING ROCK SAMPLES ACCORDING TO HARDNESS

1. Scratch the surface of the rock samples using any the following:
a. fingernail
b. coin
c. knife/glass
d. steel nail
e. masonry drill bit
f. steel file
2. Classify the samples using the scale below:
Very soft – can be scratched using fingernail
Soft – can be scratched using coin
Hard – can be scratched using knife/glass/steel nail
Very hard – can be scratched using masonry drill bit/steel file
3. Indicate the rock sample number as #1, #2…etc.

F. GROUPING ROCK SAMPLES ACCORDING TO STREAK/COLOR OF

POWDER
1. Pulverize a small rock sample by pounding or striking a hammer.
NOTE: Do not include those rock samples which are very hard.
2. Place the powder inside the clear plastic bag and label the sample number and its
streak/color

3. EXPLORE (5 min)
Activity 2 – COMPUTING FOR SPECIFIC GRAVITY OF ROCK SAMPLES

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 1. Pick up 1 piece of rock sample labelled #1.
2. Get the mass of the sample using the triple beam balance.
3. Determine its volume by using displacement method.
4. Pour the same volume of water to the beaker and transfer it to the clear plastic bag.
5. Weigh the water using the triple beam balance.
6. Determine the specific gravity of the sample of rock using the formula below:

7. Write the result on its original plastic bag.

Activity 3 – IDENTIFYING MINERALS USING DECISION TREE (Optional)

1. Present the Mineral Decision Tree to the class, as a visual guide in explaining the
methods used by geologists to identify minerals.
1. Instruct students to use their rock samples that they use in their activities.
2. Use the diagram below to narrow down the mineral choices into groups A to F. Then
refer to the provided mineral chart for the list of possible minerals.

4. EXPLAIN (10 min)

Presentation of outputs.
The rapporteur of the first group to post on the wall will present the results of the activity.

5. ELABORATE (10 min)

The teacher will discuss the different mineral properties which must be identified and
defined.

1. Luster – it is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral
a. Metallic – generally opaque and exhibit a resplendent shine similar to a polished
metal
b. Non-metallic – vitreous (glassy), adamantine (brilliant/diamond-like), resinous,
silky, pearly, dull (earthy), greasy, among others.
2. Hardness – it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to
abrasion.

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 a. Introduce students to the use of a hardness scale designed by German
geologist/mineralogist Friedrich Mohs in 1812 (Mohs Scale of Hardness).
b. The Mohs Scale of Hardness measures the scratch resistance of various minerals
from a scale of 1 to 10, based on the ability of a harder material/mineral to scratch
a softer one.

MOHS SCALE OF HARDNESS

Students will be asked to give the Pros and Cons of the Mohs scale based on their
experience of the activity.
Pros of the Mohs scale:
a. The test is easy.
b. The test can be done anywhere, anytime, as long as there is sufficient light to
see scratches.
c. The test is convenient for field geologists with scratch kits who want to make
a rough identification of minerals outside the lab.
Cons of the Mohs scale:
a. The Scale is qualitative, not quantitative.
b. The test cannot be used to accurately test the hardness of industrial materials.

3. Crystal Form/Habit
The external shape of a crystal or groups of crystals is displayed / observed as these
crystals grow in open spaces. The form reflects the supposedly internal structure (of
atoms and ions) of the crystal (mineral). It is the natural shape of the mineral before
the development of any cleavage or fracture. Examples include prismatic, tabular,
bladed, platy, reniform and equant. A mineral that do not have a crystal structure is
described as amorphous.
4. Color and streak
a. A lot of minerals can exhibit same or similar colors. Individual minerals can also
display a variety of colors resulting from impurities and also from some geologic
processes like weathering.

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 b. Examples of coloring: quartz can be pink (rose quartz), purple (amethyst), orange
(citrine), white (colorless quartz) etc.
c. Streak, on the other hand, is the mineral’s color in powdered form. It is inherent in
almost every mineral, and is a more diagnostic property compared to color. Note
that the color of a mineral can be different from its streak.
Examples of streak: pyrite (FeS2) exhibits gold color but has a black or dark gray
streak.
e. The crystal’s form also defines the relative growth of the crystal in three
dimensions, which include the crystal’s length, width and height.
Activity: Show the pictures to the learners and try to identify the crystal forms / habits.
Provide more pictures if needed.

CRYSTAL FORM / HABIT

5. Cleavage – the property of some minerals to break along specific planes of weakness
to form smooth, flat surfaces
a. These planes exist because the bonding of atoms making up the mineral happens to
be weak in those areas.
b. When minerals break evenly in more than one direction, cleavage is described by
the number of cleavage directions, the angle(s) at which they meet, and the
quality of cleavage (e.g. cleavage in 2 directions at 90°).
c. Cleavage is different from habit; the two are distinct, unrelated properties.
Although both are dictated by crystal structure, crystal habit forms as the
mineral is growing, relying on how the individual atoms in the crystal come
together.
Cleavage, meanwhile, is the weak plane that developed after the crystal is formed.
6. Specific Gravity – the ratio of the density of the mineral and the density of water
a. This parameter indicates how many times more the mineral weighs compared
to an equal amount of water (SG 1).
b. For example, a bucket of silver (SG 10) would weigh ten times more than a
bucket of water.
7. Others – magnetism, odor, taste, tenacity, reaction to acid, etc. For example,
magnetite is strongly magnetic; sulfur has distinctive smell; halite is salty; calcite
fizzes with acid as with dolomite but in powdered form; etc.

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 6. EXTEND (5 min)
MINERAL GROUPS
1. Ask the students if they think minerals can be grouped together, and the basis for such
groupings. Most likely answer: on the basis of physical properties. Response: Although
physical properties are useful for mineral identification, some minerals may exhibit a
wide range of properties.
2. Minerals, like many other things, can also be categorized. The most stable and least
ambiguous basis for classification of minerals is based on their chemical compositions.

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 IMPORTANT ROCK-FORMING MINERALS

1. Silicates – minerals containing the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust,
namely, silicon and oxygen.
a. When linked together, these two elements form the silicon oxygen tetrahedron -
the fundamental building block of silicate minerals.
b. Over 90% of rock-forming minerals belong to this group.
2. Oxides – minerals composed of oxygen anion (O 2-) combined with one or more metal
ions
3. Sulfates – minerals containing sulfur and oxygen in the form of the (SO4) - anion
4. Sulfides – minerals containing sulfur and a metal; some sulfides are sources of
economically important metals such as copper, lead, and zinc.
5. Carbonates – minerals containing the carbonate (CO 3)2 - anion combined with other
elements
6. Native Elements – minerals that form as individual elements
a. Metals and Intermetals – minerals with high thermal and electrical conductivity,
typically with metallic luster, low hardness (gold, lead)
b. Semi-metals – minerals that are more fragile than metals and have lower conductivity
(arsenic, bismuth) c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
7. Halides – minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more metals
Note:
1. Rock-forming minerals make up large masses of rocks, such as igneous, sedimentary, or
metamorphic rocks. Rock-forming minerals are essential for the classification of rocks,
whereas accessory minerals can be ignored in this endeavor.
2. Almost 85% of the atoms in the earth’s crust are oxygen and silicon. Therefore, the most
common and abundant rock-forming minerals are silicates. Some carbonates are also
abundant. The most common rock-forming minerals are tabulated on the right.

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 Importance of mineral resources: Essential for industrial and economic development of
nations. Copper, tin & iron ore were essential to the ancient metal-using cultures of the Bronze
& Iron Ages. Railways, computers, cars, skyscrapers etc. in modern society depends upon the
exploitation of mineral resources.

7. EVALUATE (10 min)

1._________ – minerals containing the two most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, namely,
silicon and oxygen.
2. _________ – minerals composed of oxygen anion (O2-) combined with one or more metal ions
3. _________ – minerals containing sulfur and oxygen in the form of the (SO4) - anion
4. _________ – minerals containing sulfur and a metal; some sulfides are sources of economically
important metals such as copper, lead, and zinc.
5. _________ – minerals containing the carbonate (CO3)2 - anion combined with other elements
6. _________– minerals that form as individual elements
7. _________– minerals with high thermal and electrical conductivity, typically with metallic luster,
low hardness (gold, lead)
8. _________– minerals that are more fragile than metals and have lower conductivity (arsenic,
bismuth) c. Nonmetals – nonconductive (sulfur, diamond)
9. _________ – minerals containing halogen elements combined with one or more metals
10. _________ – it is the quality and intensity of reflected light exhibited by the mineral
11. _________ – it is a measure of the resistance of a mineral (not specifically surface) to abrasion.
12. _________ is the mineral’s color in powdered form. It is inherent in almost every mineral, and is
a more diagnostic property compared to color.
Answer key:
1. Silicates 8. Semi-metals
2. Oxides 9. Halides
3. Sulfates 10. Luster
4. Sulfides 11. Hardness
5. Carbonates 12. Streak
6. Native Elements
7. Metals and Intermetals
REFLECTION (HOMEWORK FOR NEXT MEETING)
1. Which of the topics interest you the most? Why?
2. Which of the topics interest you the least? Why?
3. Did the activities help you understand the topic (Y/N)? Explain your answer.
4. Did you see the significance/ connection of the topic in your life?

Prepared by: _______________________

T-

Checked by: ____________________________________

School Administrator

Date:

Remarks:

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