Minerals: Secondary unit

An Acknowledgement of Country is a statement that pays respect to the Traditional Custodians of the Country that you are learning or meeting on and recognises their ongoing relationship with Country. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the Custodians of the land on which the Museum stands.

Which First Nations Country or Nation was your school built upon? If you are unsure contact a local First Nations organisation to find out. You might like to start with the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.

Ask your students to write an Acknowledgement of Country for your school. To get them started, read more about why an Acknowledgement of Country is important and how to write one in this ABC article.

Work with a partner to name a rock or mineral starting with each letter of the alphabet. (Example: Amethyst, Beryl, Calcite, Diamond).

How did you go?

What questions did you have as you were putting your list together? Record all your wonderings e.g. what is the difference between a rock and mineral?

Mineralogists are scientists who specialise in the study of minerals. Petrologists study rocks from Earth and beyond. Watch the video below to learn about mineralogy at the Australian Museum from our very own mineralogists, Ross and Dayna.

Now that you have learnt about the Museum's mineral collection, discover what defines a rock and mineral in the video below.

Now, answer the following question.

• Gems, minerals, crystals and rocks – what's the difference?

Watch the video How many minerals does Earth have? to learn about the evolution of minerals on Earth. As you watch, identify the causes of Earth’s mineral diversity.

Read A World of Minerals in your Mobile Device.

Minerals are used for many purposes including electronics, building materials, makeup, agriculture, and medicines.

Make a digital collage that illustrates the ways in which humans use rocks and minerals. Consider both past and present-day uses, and imagine how minerals may be used in the future! Start by researching the connections between people and minerals.

You may like to use some of your own images as well as print and online images. Just be sure to use your own imagery if you choose to share your final product publicly!

Take a close, slow look at some different minerals. Specimens are best but you could try this activity with pictures or some of our mineral factsheets below.

Feel free to investigate with a magnifying glass or microscope and make a note of your observations.

Compare and contrast your specimens. What characteristics vary between the minerals you have? For example, how their shape is different or similar.

What tests would you run on your minerals to learn more about them? Record your curiosities.

Read Identifying Minerals by Geoscience Australia to find out about the properties of minerals.

Go back to your observations and curiosities.

• Did you identify colour, transparency, lustre or crystal shape?
• Were you wondering about the properties of minerals?

With a small group of classmates, design a scientific procedure for investigating the following properties of your minerals: streak, conductivity, magnetism, fluorescence, effervescence and hardness.

Refer back to the page above for clues about how to test these mineral properties. You may also like to conduct your own test based on a question you noted earlier.

Remember to be creative. For example, use a variety of magnets, magnetic objects (e.g., paperclip) and a compass to test for magnetism. Remember to be safe. For example, use vinegar, gloves and safety glasses to test for effervescence.

Grab a magnifying glass and look carefully at some… salt. Notice the surfaces, faces, and edges of the salt crystals.

Crystals are solids that have an orderly arrangement of atoms. The arrangement is also repeated as the crystal grows, that is, as more atoms are added. Different arrangements result in different shaped crystals.

• How would you describe the shape of the salt crystals?

The main crystal systems, or groups, can be found here.

• What crystal system do you think salt belongs to?

Challenge: Put your mathematical skills to the test and make a net of each crystal system.

Crystals need time and room to grow. Temperature, chemical conditions and pressure also influence the crystal growth.

Crafting crystals

Though crystals aren’t alive, they are said to grow when more atoms are added.

With a partner, design an experiment that explores crystal growth e.g. how does temperature effect crystal growth?

You will probably want to start by doing some research. Remember to keep a note of the sources you use so you can add them to your reference list later.

When designing your experiment be sure to include the following:

1. Aim: What are you investigating?
2. Hypothesis: What do you think will happen?
3. Equipment: What materials will you need? *
4. Method: What steps you will follow? *
5. Variables:
   1. What are you going to change (independent variable)?
   2. What are you going to keep the same (controlled variables)?
   3. What are you going to measure (dependent variable)?
6. Setup: How will you organise your experiment? **
7. Results: What happened? **
8. Discussion: Can you explain your results?
9. Conclusion: Can you summarise your investigation?
10. Reference list: What sources did you use for research before, after or during your investigation?

*Safety equipment and procedures should be included here.

**Diagrams, tables, graphs or photographs would be helpful here.

Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. Rocks are aggregates of minerals. For example, granite is made up of at least three minerals: feldspar, quartz and mica. The different minerals, the percentage of those minerals, as well as their arrangement in a rock determines the name of the rock. However, as the chemical composition of a rock is not “set in stone”, all rocks are unique.

Depending on how they are formed, rocks are classified into three main groups. Listen to geologist Ben Andrews describe the three types of rocks.

Igneous rocks begin as hot magma (molten rock) inside the Earth. The rate at which the magma cools and solidifies as well as the mix of materials determines what type of rocks are made.

• What does Ben say about the differences between igneous rocks?

Extrusive igneous rocks arrive at the surface through volcanic activity. In this video, volcanoes are described as “windows to Earth’s interior”. Why? Watch to find out!

Water is one agent that breaks down (weathers) rocks and shells into sediments. Sediments are also moved (eroded) and set down (deposited) by water and wind. Sediments that have been compacted into rocks are called sedimentary rocks.

• What does Ben say about the formation of sedimentary rocks?

Metamorphosis means “change”. Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been changed by heat and pressure. Limestone, for example, can become marble.

• What does Ben say about “folding” in metamorphic rocks?

Learn more about the formation of metamorphic rocks here.

Now that you know about igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, have a go at creating a diagram that shows how each rock type is formed. (You may want to use labels, arrows or a key). Take a peek at the diagram below after creating your own.

Earth’s surface is constantly changing. The rock cycle, illustrated below, describes the processes that make and change rocks.

Collect a variety of interesting rocks with your class and carefully examine each one.

Sort your collection into types: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Make sure your identification is evidence-based. (For example, consider the location the specimen was found and note grain sizes and shapes).

Download a rock classification cheat sheet and check out some common rocks below.

Visit and explore our Minerals exhibition which showcases rocks and minerals from Australia and around the world.

During your visit, take plenty of photographs (no flash) of anything and everything you find interesting in the gallery. This might include your favourite specimens. You will use some of these images to complete the final project, so it is a good idea to capture your experience.

Set in the Australian Museum’s spectacular Minerals gallery, the Earth's resources program explores the building blocks of planet Earth.

Provide your students a chance to engage with the Museum's diverse rock and mineral collection, get hands on identifying and classifying rocks, investigate First Nations peoples use of geological resources, and analyse the significance of renewable and non-renewable resources.

With a partner, create an izi.Travel presentation about rocks and minerals.

izi.Travel is a storytelling platform. Museums share stories as well through their collections. Now, it’s your turn to tell a story.

Start by looking back at all your work and find out how to create an izi guide.

Your presentation should be targeted towards people your own age. You will need to be both creative and informative to keep your audience interested!

Include: subheadings/sections (e.g., What do minerals teach us about our Earth? How do we use them?); written text; audio; and images (you can use the photographs from your visit to the Australian Museum).

Be sure to plan and draft your work before publishing. When you are finished, share your presentation with friends and family!