we are learning about rocks and minerals. hooray!
tips for collecting rocks
hard or soft
heavy or light
shiny or dull
A rock can be soft.
Try to scratch it with your fingernail or a penny or a nail. If you can, it is soft.
If you can't, it is hard.
They can even be the same color, but they are different kinds of rocks if one is soft and the other one is hard.
shiny or dull
heavy or light
shiny or dull
Rocks can be shiny.
Hold the rock up to the light. Does it reflect light? Or it could be sparkly. It can even look like there is glitter inside.
If a rock is completely dull, it is definitely a different kind of rock.
Try to find some of both.
heavy or light
heavy or light
rough or smooth
This one is pretty easy to figure out.
Two rocks can basically be the same size but one feels much heavier than the other one. Sometimes the light one even has little holes in it. A light rock is not the same kind of rock as a heavy rock.
rough or smooth
different colors
rough or smooth
This one is tricky.
ALL PEBBLES ARE SMOOTH!
So don't choose a pebble.
But, some rocks are literally rough. You can tell by rubbing it on your arm or cheeks. If it feels scratchy, it is rough. Other rocks aren't smooth like a marble, but they don't feel scratchy.
different colors
different colors
different colors
This is another tricky one.
You can find red rocks, white rocks, grey rocks, black rocks, and green rocks etc.
But some rocks can be mostly white OR kind of white with a little orange. But they are the same kind of rock. A rock that is a solid blue, or black, or red etc. is probably different. Just ask me.
patterns
different colors
different colors
Did you ever notice that rocks are not always solid colors? Some rocks look like salt and pepper or polka dots? Some have stripes! Some have blobs dotted all over them.
Probably a striped rock is not the same kind as one that that polka dots.
getting help from the teacher
I am super HAPPY to help you look at your rocks and give lots of help!
However, there are some things to consider.
1. When you show me your rocks, I need to see ALL your rocks. That is the only way I can tell if you have duplicates. So always bring your blue rock box AND the ziplock bag with the current week's rocks. When I compare, I look at your whole collection. This can get tricky as your collection grows.
2. Ask questions throughout the week. This is something you should do early on. If you wait till Monday, that means it's too late for me to help. Your grade will already be fixed. The last day to check in with me is Friday, right? But...if you ask me a couple times in the week, that works the best.
think about this
helpful hints.
Some rules:
1. No pebbles.
2. Can't be smaller than a marble.
3. Can't be bigger than an egg.
4. No polished rocks.
Keep in mind this idea.
Let's say you have 4 black rocks. They could all be the same kind of rock so be careful. BUT, it's possible they are all different. One might be really hard but dull. Another one might be hard but shiny. One might have little holes in it. One might be super smooth and if you run it over your cheek it feels really smooth.
That's a good indication that they are all probably different types of rocks.
Here's another idea.
If you are hunting for a rock and you choose 4 rocks from the same place, they are probably the same kind of rock.
You can look for rocks in parks and even at houses that use rocks for landscaping. So if you walk by a house that has a section of all shiny white rocks, they are all the same type of rock. That's true even if their size is different or the colors are slightly different. So only choose one.
Don't get fooled.
Sometimes something looks like a rock, but it is actually a piece of concrete. Gasp! I have examples of this you can check out.
Pebbles can be tricky.
It's mostly clear when something is a pebble. HOWEVER, the tricky part is that sometimes a pebble can be BROKEN. This is tricky because the broken part is not smooth. It can be jagged or rough and that side can look like a regular rock. But, if you turn the rock around, you can notice the smooth part of the pebble.
