Rocks and the Rock Cycle

Subject: SMT 416 (grade 8th)

Teacher: Mr.Armenta

Armenta Ramiro
Date: 10-23-15
School: CSUDH

1. Objective: Student will pull from previous knowledge to connect to this lesson.
Students will see the correlation between a mineral and a rock. Students will know about
the 3 different types of rocks such as 1) Igneous 2) Sedimentary and 3) Metamorphic
rocks. Teacher will introduce the rock cycle and explain that there is really no start or end
to the rock cycle as it is a CYCLE, so it doesnt really matter with which rock you begin
with.
The Rock Cycle: Students will know that molted rock is called magma and this happens
interior of the earth (Earth crust and upper mantel) and once the volcano erupts and
magna is forced out, it is then called lava. Lava or molted rock will cool and this is called
crystallization or solidification. Solidification happens either beneath the surface or after
an eruption, which gives birth to Igneous rocks. Igneous rocks will live on top of the
earth and will go throw a process called weathering (this just means the day to day life,
rain, winds that will eventually decompose the rock/tear apart). The loose chunks that are
torn apart from the rock will be driven down either by water, or winds also know as
erosional agents. They will usually end up in the bottom or the sea, lakes, sand dunes and
desert basins. They will then undergo a process called lithification which means
"conversion into rock". This happens as sedimentary rock is compacted by the materials
that fall on top of it. If sedimentary rock becomes too buried or involved in the dynamics
of mountain building, it will increase in pressure and heat creating a new rock called
metamorphic rock. If the pressure and heat continue to increase during a metamorphic
rock, the rock will soon melt and become magma and the cycle will begin again.

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The rock cycle doesnt always follow this path. Sometimes and igneous rock will stay
buried and will under go extreme heat that they will transformed into metamorphic rocks.
As well as igneous rocks getting so hot that they will melt and become magma once
more. (Explain other two blue arrows sedimentary and metamorphic to sedimentary)
Igneous Rocks: They formed from magma and lava through crystallization. When it
solidifies at the surface igneous rocks are classified as extrusive or volcanic. Extrusive
rocks are abundant. Igneous rocks that crystallize inside are called intrusive or plutonic.
When magma cools, ions begin to arrange themselves into patterns and this is called
crystallization. The longer magma cools the larger and fewer the crystal. The faster it
cools, it results in the formation of a solid or small inter grown crystals. Igneous rocks
can be descried through their texture, which is usually based on the size, shape and
arrangement of its mineral grain. There are 5 types of textures and those are 1) CoarseGrained (Phaneritic) 2) Fine - Grained (Aphanitic) 3) Porphyritic 4) Glassy 5) Vesicular
texture and 6) Fragmental (Pyroclastic) Texture. Phaneritic - large mass of magma
solidifies deep inside, cools slowly, intergrown crystals usually equal in size. Aphanitic molten material that cools fast in the surface, composed of individual crystals that are too
small to identify. Porphyritic - molten rock cools in 2 different environments, Large
crystals embedded with smaller ones. Big crystals called phenocrysts and smaller ones
called groundmass or matrix. Glassy - when material is ejected and cooled rapidly that
atoms are unable to arrange themselves into a crystalline structure, the result is then a
glassy texture. Vesicular - fine grained and glassy that have voids left by gas bubbles that
escape as lave solidifies. Pyroclastic - ash and molten blobs that blast out of volcanoes.
A second way to describe igneous rocks is through its composition. They can be divided
into 4 groups, 1) Felsic (organic) - composed of light - colored mineral such as quartz or
potassium feldspar. Dark color minerals account for less than 15%. 2) Intermediate
(andesitic) mixture of light (plagioclase feldspar) and dark colored minerals (amphibole).
Dark mineral account for 15 - 45%. 3) Mafic (basaltic) abundant dark colored mineral
(olivine and pyroxene) Dark color mineral account for 45-85%. 4) Ultramafic - rocks
composed of all dark silicates (olivine, pyroxene) Dark color mineral account for 85100%. Geologist use a color index value based on % of dark silicate minerals. (SHOW
LAB BOOK PAGE 32)
Sedimentary Rocks: As previously state, sedimentary rocks occur from a weathering
process. We must look at the 2 types of weathering, 1) Mechanical and 2) Chemical.
Mechanical weathering is when a rock is broken into smaller parts but still containing the
same minerals. When this process happens it increases the amount of surface area
available for chemical weathering. There are 3 important physical processes in which a
rocks breaks. 1) Frost wedging - when water slips into cracks and crevices and freezes
and expands, moving the rock farther and farther apart. 2) Sheeting - large masses of
intrusive igneous rock are exposed by erosion, slabs break loose like layers of an onion.
3) Biological Activity - this happens when trees, plants break through a rock in search for
water. Chemical weathering alters the internal structure of mineral by adding or removing
elements. This happens through 1) oxidation - oxygen dissolved in water will oxidize. 2)
Carbonic Acid - carbon dioxide dissolved in water forms carbonic acid, that will react to

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such minerals like potassium feldspar. 3) Products of chemical weathering - minerals

added to water to either create clay or reddish dirt. (look at table 2.4)
Detrital sedimentary rocks consist of mineral grains or rock fragments derived from
mechanical and chemical weathering that are transported and deposited as solid particles.
CFlay is most abundant solid product of chemical weathering. Same as igneous rocks,
sedimentary rocks have different compositions, they are either classified as detrital or
chemical based on the nature of the sediment of which they are composed. Sediment
rocks have a certain percent of, clay minerals, quartz, and calcite. Sedimentary rocks also
have texture and those are described as either clastic or nonclastic. Clastic texture,consist
of discrete particles that are cemented or compacted together. Nonclastic texture, are
often crystalline and consist of mineral that form patterns of interlocking crystals.
Sedimentary rocks can be identified into two groups, detrital or chemical. Detrital rocks
are based on grain size, where composition is the main criteria for chemical sedimentary
rocks.
Metamorphic Rocks: is the transformation of one rock type into another. So every
metamorphic rock has a parent rock, meaning the rock from which it was formed.
Metamorphic rocks will usually have foliation which is mineral crystals that are
elongated or have a sheet structure becoming oriented perpendicular to compression
forces. Foliated Metamorphic rocks are rocks that are either elongated or have thin,
platy shape and are arranged in a parallel or layered manner. Increase heat and pressure
can cause mineral crystals to become larger and foliated. Some examples are those of 1)
Slaty or rock cleavage - closely spaced, flat surface which rocks splits into thin slabs
when struck with hammer. 2) Phyllite texture - minute mica crystals in slate begin to
increase in size. They have a shiny, metallic sheen surface. 3) Schisosity - scaly layering
of glittery, platy minerals (mostly mica) often found with deformed quatz and feldspar
grains. 4) Gneissic texture - forms during high graded metamorphism when ion migration
results in the segregation of light and dark minerals. There are also Nonfoliated
Metamorphic Rocks and those consist of intergrown crystals of various size and are
mostly identified by determining their mineral composition. Aside form these two, there
are other features that metamorphic rocks have such as stretched or deformed pebbles.
Some are called porphyroblast, and those are rocks that have big crystals surrounding fine
grained matrix.
2. Learning Targets: As a result of this lesson student will be able to describe the rock
cycle. They should know that there is no actual starting point or end to it, and that at
times it does not follow the actual cycle as there are times when it derails, given the
example of igneous rock going straight to metamorphic rocks. Students should be able to
identify all 3 different types of rock (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic) a long with
being able to give a brief explanation of each one, such as where are they formed. Very
easily a student should know that lava is outside and magma is inside and crystals form
bigger when they cool slower. A student should also be able to label parts of the rock
cycle such as when does crystallization happen and when does melting occur. A student
will also know that textures and compositions of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic
rocks, though they will be able to use their book as its too much information for any one
to comprehend all at once. Students will also engage in identifying rocks similar to when

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they identified minerals. Students will be able to classified each rock as either igneous or
sedimentary and label their textures and so forth. Students will also know the proper
names for a coarse grained and fine grained texture, as well as give an example of
igneous textures given the name. Such example describe a vesicular texture, pumice
should come into a student mind right away, and say its fine grained glassy texture.
3. Relevance/Rationale: The importance of this lesson is to show that all rocks undergo a
special process and that rocks they see are not just pointless pieces of matter. They will
acquire knowledge to know whether a rock is igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic at
times by just looking at them. It should come to them that rocks that are metamorphic are
more visible if they display foliated textures and should then be able to tell the person
they are with, about this certain rock. This lesson is also important because it ties the
previous lesson of mineral to rocks as rocks are composed of several different types of
minerals. This lesson will then connect to volcanoes given that we have just scratched the
surface when we talked about igneous rock being formed inside which is called
(intrusive) check for comprehension.
4. Formative Assessment Criteria for success: The way teacher would check for
comprehension would be through the rock identification worksheet. Students will have to
fill out the chart that will describe a rock composition as well as its texture. The student
will then have to identify the rock, though they will be able to use their book to see what
type of rock it is. Students should be able to see the differences between obsidian and
pumice and should be able to see differences as well as some similarities between
compositions given that they are both glassy texture. A teacher will provide a test at the
end of the lesson that will give the rock cycle with blank spots around and students will
fill in the blanks. This is an example I found, but would adapt my lesson depending how
easy or hard I would like to make it.

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5. Activities / Task: The activities that will go with this lesson would be similar to that of
the mineral lesson. Students will have a worksheet where they will be able to identify
different types of rocks, such as sedimentary and igneous rocks. Teacher will also provide
hand outs like the one shown on top, which will be used for a test as well as in class
activity, so students should in theory get an A on their test. Showing how crystals are
made during its process of the bigger the crystal the slower it cools, teacher will have an
activity were students will make their own sugar crystals. Here is the quick lesson to
build on from. Show you tube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B5mCsuiTLg

Sugar Crystals
(water, sugar, string, pencil, container)

Boil about 1 cup (400 ml) water.

Add about cup (200 ml) of sugar to the water, and stir the solution well.
Pour the solution into the jar. Make sure that the jar you selected can withstand the temperature (a glass
should work).
Suspend the string from a pencil.
Submerge the string in the solution.

The sugar crystals will grow slowly on the string over a period of several days. If you want the string to hang
straight in the jar, tie a weight to the bottom of the string.
6. Resources/Materials: Book, rock kit, hand outs, computer for youtube, cups (how
many students you have, + 5 give or take), sticks, food color, clothes pins, and patience.

Rocks and the Rock Cycle

Armenta Ramiro

Rocks and the Rock Cycle

Armenta Ramiro