Rocks, Minerals, and soil

Science, Grade 3

Rocks, Minerals, and soil

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Rocks, Minerals, and soil

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Study Guide Rocks, Minerals, and soil Science, Grade 3

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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.