Rocks, Minerals, and soil
Science - Third Grade
How Does the Earth's Surface Change?
Multimedia Lesson
What are Ecosystems?
Presentation
What are Ecosystems?
Presentation
Physical and Chemical Weathering Interactive Activity
Interactive
Rocks, Minerals, and soil
Study Guide
Rocks, Minerals, and soil
Quiz
Rocks, Minerals, and soil
Flash Cards
Rocks, Minerals, and soil
Worksheet
Rocks, Minerals, and soil
Game
Rocks, Minerals, and soil
Vocabulary List
Rocks
Flip Chart
Soil
Flip Chart
Rocks, Minerals & Soil
Flip Chart
Study Guide Rocks, Minerals, and soil
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ROCKS, MINERALS AND SOIL Rocks Rocks are solid material found in nature made up of minerals. A mineral is a natural material usually found in the ground. A rock has physical properties like color and composition, or what exact minerals make up the rock. Another property of a rock is its texture. The texture of a rock is determined by what the rock is made of. Texture is how something feels. Lesson Checkpoint: What is texture? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Three Main Groups of Rocks Rocks can be classified, or grouped, into three main groups. Rocks placed into a certain groups according to how they were formed. Igneous rock is one rock group that a rock can be classified into. Igneous rocks are formed underground and above ground. Igneous rocks are formed UNDERGROUND when melted rock deep below the Earth’s surface becomes trapped in small areas underground. Melted rock found beneath the Earth’s surface is called magma. As the magma in the small areas underground cools, igneous rocks are formed. Igneous rocks are formed ABOVE ground when lava erupts from a volcano and then cools forming igneous rocks above the Earth’s surface. Lava is magma that comes above the Earth’s surface during a volcano. Lesson Checkpoint: Where are igneous rocks formed? Another group of rocks is sedimentary rocks. Sediment is material that settles at the bottom of a body of water. Sedimentary rocks are formed when sediment piled up at the bottom of a body of water is pressed together over thousands of years. Fossils are MOST often found in sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks are formed in layers. Lesson Checkpoint: How are sedimentary rocks formed? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
A third group of rock classification is metamorphic rock. Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have been changed by heat and pressure. When rocks are buried, heat and pressure is applied to the rock causing the minerals inside the rock to change. Igneous and sedimentary rocks change into metamorphic rocks. Minerals Minerals are the most common solid material found on Earth. Mineral also have different properties that can be used to describe the minerals. Luster is a property of minerals that shows how much light is reflected by a mineral. Other properties of minerals are the color of the streak it leaves behind if it is rubbed against another surface and its hardness. The hardest mineral of them all is a diamond. Lesson Checkpoint: What is one property of minerals? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Gold and silver are very rare minerals. Copper, lead, fluorite, and iron are examples of other minerals. We need minerals in our bodies to stay healthy. We eat mineral when we eat certain such as vegetables and fruit. Lesson Checkpoint: Why do our bodies need minerals? Soil Soil is loose material the covers much of the Earth’s surface. Soil is important because plants need it to grow. Plants are supported by the soil and also get water and nutrients from the soil in order to survive. Soil that contains water and nutrients support all the plants on Earth including crops where we get much of the food we eat from. Soil is made up of several layers that are made up of rocks. Soil is made up of three main layers: topsoil, subsoil, and bedrock. Soil is important because it supports all living things. Lesson Checkpoint: What is soil? © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted for the purchaser to print copies for non-commercial educational purposes only. Visit us at www.NewPathLearning.com.
Table Of Contents: Earth's Surface
1. Lesson Objectives
2.1. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
2. Engage
3.1. The Earth's Surface
3. Explore
4.1. A Close-Up of The Earth's Surface
4.2. Changes Over Time
4. Explain
5.1. The Earth
The Earth is made up of three main layers - crust, mantle and core. We live on the outer layer of the Earth called the crust. The Earth's crust is made up of many different rocks. The layer beneath the Earth's crust is called the mantle. The Earth's mantle is made of igneous and metamorphic rocks.
5.2. Earth's Core
The innermost layer of the Earth is called the core. The Earth's core is made of metal. The Earth's core is hot enough to melt but the center of the core is packed together so tightly that it remains a solid. The outer section of the Earth's core however is hot, thick liquid.
5.3. Earth Inside and Out Interactive Activity
5.4. Landforms
Earth's surface has many shapes and features, known as landforms. They include mountains, canyons, deltas, hills, valleys, and more. A topographic map shows the elevation of these landforms.
5.5. Examples of Landforms
Examples of landforms include glaciers, rivers, lakes, valleys, hills, mountains, coasts and oceans.
5.6. Erosion and Deposition
Changes on the Earth's surface are caused in part by weathering and erosion. Erosion is the wearing away of the Earth's surface by rain, wind, snow, and ice. Deposition is the laying down of pieces of Earth's surface, such as rocks and sand. Over time, whole landscapes can be changed by erosion and deposition.
5.7. Landforms Interactive Matching Activity
5.8. Weathering
The Earth's surface changes constantly because of wind, water, temperature changes, and living things. Landforms can change due to weathering which is the process of breaking rocks into smaller pieces. There are two types of weathering - physical and chemical.
5.9. Physical Weathering
One way physical weathering takes place when water and ice break rocks down into smaller pieces. This happens by freezing and thawing. Physical weathering only changes the size of the rock.
5.10. Chemical Weathering
Chemical weathering not only changes the size of rocks but also causes them to change into different materials. During chemical weathering the rocks are broken down by the actions of chemicals in the air or water.
5.11. Soil
Soil covers most of Earth's land. It is a mixture of sediments of weathered rocks, nonliving materials, and decayed plants and animals. Over time, three layers of soil develop. Topsoil is made mostly of decaying plant and animal remains (humus). Subsoil contains minerals and small rocks. Bedrock is mostly solid rock.
5.12. Physical and Chemical Weathering Interactive Activity
5.13. Earth's Plates
The outermost layer of the Earth's crust is called the lithosphere. This layer is broken down into small and large sections called plates. These plates move slowly and might run into each other, pull apart, or grind past each other. As these plates move, they can cause changes to the Earth's surface. These changes include earthquakes, volcanoes, and the formation of mountains and valleys.
5.14. Earthquakes
Earthquakes cause rapid changes to the Earth's surface. An earthquake is a sudden shift in the Earth's crust that causes the ground to shake and vibrate violently. They most often occur where plates meet on land or under the ocean.
5.15. Volcanoes
Magma is hot, melted rock found beneath the Earth's surface. When pressure builds up, magma erupts though the Earth's crust. Volcanoes are openings in the Earth's crust where the magma comes out. Melted rock that comes above the Earth's surface is called lava. Volcanoes can also cause rapid changes to the Earth's surface.
5.16. Volcanic Islands
Volcanoes can form on continents or they can build from the ocean floor forming volcanic islands. The Hawaiian Islands were formed this way.
5.17. Types of Natural Processes Matching Interactive
5.18. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
5. Virtual Investigation
6.1. Weathering and Erosion
6.2. Earthquakes
6.3. Volcanoes
6. Evaluate
7.1. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
7. Lesson Summary
8.1. How Does The Earth's Surface Change?
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