Rocks & Minerals Backyard Workbook: Hands-on Projects, Quizzes, and Activities for Kids (Nature Science Workbooks for Kids) - Softcover

Lynch, Dan R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1647551668 ISBN 13: 9781647551667

Publisher: Adventure Publications, 2021

Synopsis

Introduce children to geology through fun activities and hands-on science projects.

From beaches to gravel roads, from prairieland to rugged terrain, rocks and minerals are all around us. They provide incredible opportunities for getting outside and discovering nature. There are so many kinds to see and appreciate―even in your backyard or at a nearby park.

Teach your children to love and protect the great outdoors. This workbook by Dan R. Lynch features more than 20 simple, fun introductions to a variety of rocks and minerals, including granite, sandstone, gemstones, and more. Plus, over a dozen activities help kids to make hypotheses, experiment, and observe. The 19 hands-on science projects―such as starting a rock collection and testing the hardness of minerals―put students in control of their own learning!

You never know what your children will uncover in their outdoor classroom. Every day is a little treasure hunt. If they keep good records and share what they find, their observations can even help scientists learn more about nature. So get the Rocks & Minerals Workbook, and get started on a lifetime of discovery.

About this title

About the Author

Dan R. Lynch has a degree in graphic design with emphasis on photography from the University of Minnesota Duluth. But before his love of art and writing came a passion for rocks and minerals, developed during his lifetime growing up in his parents’ rock shop in Two Harbors, Minnesota. Combining the two aspects of his life seemed a natural choice, and he enjoys researching, writing about, and taking photographs of rocks and minerals. Working with his father, Bob Lynch, a respected veteran of Lake Superior’s agate-collecting community, Dan spearheads their series of rock and mineral field guides―definitive guidebooks that help amateurs “decode” the complexities of geology and mineralogy. He also takes special care to ensure that his photographs complement the text and always represent each rock or mineral exactly as it appears in person. He currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, Julie, where he works as a writer and photographer.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Testing the Hardness of Minerals

Hardness is a useful way to help identify your mineral finds. The Mohs Hardness Scale, below, ranks some common minerals in terms of hardness, or how easily they can be scratched.

1. Talc
2. Gypsum
3. Calcite
4. Fluorite
5. Apatite
6. Orthoclase
7. Quartz
8. Topaz
9. Corundum
10. Diamond

Talc, the lowest mineral on the scale, is so soft you can scratch it with your fingers. Diamond is famous for being one of the hardest minerals, and for good reason: almost no natural substances can scratch it.

Making your own hardness test kit is a good way to start learning hands-on, and determining a mineral’s hardness is a good clue for identifying the type of mineral you have. The way the scale works is simple. Any material lower on the scale can be scratched by those above it. So gypsum can scratch talc (but talc can’t scratch gypsum). Similarly, calcite can scratch gypsum and talc but not fluorite.

Find a mineral (not a rock). Try to scratch it with these common items:

• Fingernail: 2.5
• A real piece of copper: 3 (not a penny; they aren’t made of much copper anymore)
• Steel nail: 5.5-6 (for safety, have an adult help you)
• A piece of quartz: 7

To scratch it, hold the to-be-scratched mineral firmly in one hand. Use a pointed area of the “scratching” item and press firmly, away from your body/fingers. If it leaves a scratch-mark, the mystery mineral is softer than the “scratching” item.

Start with your fingernail. If it leaves a scratch, then your mineral is softer than 2.5 on the scale. If it doesn’t leave a scratch, try the piece of copper, and so on.

Once you’ve found something that scratches it, you’re close to figuring out its hardness. After that, it’s often a matter of scratching it with other minerals from the chart (or your scratching tools). Seeing if you can narrow down a more specific range. For example, if your fingernail doesn’t scratch it but a piece of apatite does, then you know the hardness is between 2.5 and 5. Once you have an approximate hardness, you can search online for minerals in that hardness range.

Edition details

• Publisher: Adventure Publications
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1647551668
• ISBN 13: 9781647551667
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 132