Today's Mastery Day

Today's Mastery Day from Owen Hoegh on Vimeo.

Hopefully today is the day that we get another Hoegh in the world. That is what I am going to focus on. You, on the other hand, should focus on learning as much as you can about geology. Make it a great, productive Mastery Day.

Identifying Minerals

In the past few days in science, your view of minerals has likely changed. You've discovered that there are many different classes/types of minerals -- each with a unique set of properties that allows us to identify one mineral from another.
In your comment, completely answer the following questions. If you don't want your comment to be published, that is fine! Just let me know in the comment you leave.

1. Minerals are identified by their properties. What are some of the properties you used to distinguish one mineral from another? Why is it best to use more than just one or two of these properties?
   
2. Did some of the properties "work" better than others? Which ones were the most effective? Which were the least effective? Explain.
   
3. What was the most difficult part of identifying minerals?
   

What are minerals?

Check out this vodcast when you're ready.
What is a Mineral?
Then complete this blog response:
What are the 4 Things a Mineral Must Be?
What are the 2 main classes of minerals?
What is 1 tough concept having to do with minerals?

Weathering and Erosion Prezis

Thanks, Crazy 8's, for your excellent work on the Weathering and Erosion Prezi Project. Many of the products were phenomenal. Here are a few of them:
Meghan, Brianna, and Mariah
Trevor and Riley
Neil and Matt
Hannah and Jessica
Kristin and Malia
Tanner and Sean
Brady, Richard, and Ethan
Morgan and Connor
Brooklyn and Erika

Life Story of a Grain of Sand

Respond to the following writing prompt, and write your story in the comment section of this post.
Purpose: To review the rock cycle process.
Directions: Pretend a grain of sand or rock could come to life and tell its story of changing from one type of rock to another during the rock cycle. Write a creative story or poem describing what "Rocky" would experience as he/she goes through the Rock Cycle. Make sure that you describe how this piece of sediment could become part of 3 different types of rock, and how it could become magma.
Resources: The Rock Cycle Prezi (in the blog post below); Pages 92-93 and Chapter 4-1 in the Red Book; Prior Knowledge/Creativity

Rock Cycle Prezi

Rocks.... on Prezi

The Geology of the Black Hills

Many of you have been out to the Black Hills. If you haven't (or if you can't remember what it is like), visualize the following scenario:
As you drive west from Rapid City, you notice a jagged stretch of sandstone peaks called the Hogback Ridge. After a short descent from those sandtone peaks, you come to an area comprised of another sedimentary rock, red shale, which makes a "Racetrack" around the Black Hills. If you keep driving west, there is a gradual incline made of limestone. This limestone formed 100-500 million years ago, from the shells of ancient marine animals. (Yes, we are still in the Black Hills of South Dakota.) Keep driving still, past this limestone plateau, and you will see the Central Crystalline Core of the Black Hills. This area is made of schist (a metamorphic rock) and granite (an intrusive igneous rock) that have aged for up to 2.5 billion years. The apparent color of this Central Core and the groves of Ponderosa Pine gave this area its name, the Black Hills. You might want to get out of the car and take a hike up to Harney Peak, the highest peak in between the Rocky Mountains and the Alps of Switzerland.
What are the events that led to the formation of these Black Hills? Why does it look the way it does? Like geologists, we will explore these questions today.
Please watch the "Formation of the Black Hills" vodcast at our vodcast website or on your iPod. Then answer the following questions in your blog response.

1. Write a summary of how the Black Hills formed. What are the events that led to their formation?
2. Would the Badlands exist if weathering/erosion had not taken place? Why/Why not?
3. The major uplift of the Black Hills occurred 70 million years ago. What do you think that area of South Dakota looked like 40 million years ago? What do you think the Black Hills and Badlands will look like in another 40 million years?

Hydrogen Lab Video

Crazy 8 learners create Hydrogen Gas in a lab. Then they check hydrogen for its property of flammability. You know.... just to be sure.