EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE
LESSON 4: MINERALS & ROCKS
Most Essential Learning Competency:
● Classify rocks into igneous, sedimentary,
and metamorphic. (S11/12ES-Ib-10)
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
● Classify and describe the three basic rock types;
● Establish relationship between rock types and the
origin and environment of deposition/formation;
and
● Understand the different geologic processes
involved in rock formation.
Pretest:
Directions: Write the letter of the correct answer that
best completes the sentence or answers the question.
1. What does the presence of tiny crystals in a piece
of igneous rock tell you about it?
A. The molten rock remains melted.
B. The molten rock cooled very quickly.
C. The molten rock cooled very slowly.
D. The molten rock cooled deep under the Earth’s
crust.
2. Which of these rocks is an igneous rock?
A. marble B. limestone
C. granite D. conglomerate
3. Which statement about metamorphic rocks is
correct?
A. They are formed from all types of rocks under
intense pressure and high temperature.
B. They are formed when rocks are transported
and deposited.
C. They are formed from heated sedimentary
rocks only.
D. They are formed from accumulated debris.
4. Which metamorphic rock is formed from
limestone?
A. slate B. shale
C. marble D. gabbro
5. Which statement is TRUE about the crystals in
metamorphic rocks?
A. They are arranged in layers.
B. They are large if magma cooled slowly.
C. They are small if magma cooled very fast.
D. Gas bubbles are trapped during the cooling
process.
Recall:
Label the different processes of rocks involved in the
rock cycle.
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a. melting d. lithification
b. crystallization e. metamorphism
c. weathering f. heat and pressure
Unlocking Difficulties:
● Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling of
magma or lava. The term “igneous” is based from
the latinignis, meaning fire. Magma or lava may
be solidified in one of three ways.
● Sedimentary rocks accumulate on Earth’s
surface in a process called deposition. The
materials that make up sedimentary rocks are a
combination of the products of weathering and
erosion, and organic materials.
● Metamorphic rocks are formed from the
exposure of sedimentary or igneous rocks to high
pressure, high temperature, or both, deep within
Earth’s surface.
Discussion:
There are three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary
and metamorphic. Each of these types is part of the
rock cycle. Through changes in conditions one rock
type can become another rock type. Or it can become
a different rock of the same type.
What Are Rocks?
A rock is a naturally formed, non-living earth material.
Rocks are made of collections of mineral grains that
are held together in a firm, solid mass.
The different colors and textures seen in this rock are
caused by the presence of different minerals.
How is a rock different from a mineral? Rocks are
made of minerals.
The mineral grains
in a rock may be so
tiny that you can
only see them with a
microscope, or they
may be as big as
your fingernail or
even your finger.
Three Main Categories of Rocks
Rocks are classified into three major groups according
to how they form. Rocks can be studied in hand
samples that can be moved from their original
location. Rocks can also be studied in outcrop,
exposed rock formations that are attached to the
ground, at the location where they are found.
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EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE
Igneous Rocks
Igneous rocks form from cooling magma. Magma
that erupts onto Earth’s surface is lava, as seen
in Figure below. The chemical composition of the
magma and the rate at which it cools determine what
rock forms as the minerals cool and crystallize.
This flowing lava is molten rock that will harden into
an igneous rock
Sedimentary Rocks
Sedimentary rocks form by the compaction and
cementing together of sediments, broken pieces of
rock-like gravel, sand, silt, or clay (Figure below).
This sedimentary rock is made of sand that is
cemented together to form a sandstone.
Those sediments can be formed from the weathering
and erosion of preexisting rocks. Sedimentary rocks
also include chemical precipitates, the solid
materials left behind after a liquid evaporates.
Metamorphic Rocks
Metamorphic rocks form when the minerals in an
existing rock are changed by heat or pressure within
the Earth. See Figure below for an example of a
metamorphic rock.
Quartzite is a metamorphic rock formed when quartz sandstone is
exposed to heat and pressure within the Earth.
The Rock Cycle
Rocks change as a result of natural processes that are
taking place all the time. Most changes happen very
slowly; many take place below the Earth’s surface, so
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we may not even notice the changes. Although we
may not see the changes, the physical and chemical
properties of rocks are constantly changing in a
natural, never-ending cycle called the rock cycle.
The concept of the rock
cycle was first developed
by James Hutton, an
eighteenth century
scientist often called the
“Father of Geology”.
Hutton recognized that
geologic processes have
“no [sign] of a beginning,
and no prospect of an
end.” The processes
involved in the rock cycle
often take place over
millions of years. So on the scale of a human lifetime,
rocks appear to be “rock solid” and unchanging, but in
the longer term, change is always taking place.
In the rock cycle, illustrated in Figure below, the three
main rock types – igneous, sedimentary, and
metamorphic – are shown. Arrows connecting the
three rock types show the processes that change one
rock type into another. The cycle has no beginning
and no end. Rocks deep within the Earth are right now
becoming other types of rocks. Rocks at the surface
are lying in place before they are next exposed to a
process that will change them.
Processes of the Rock Cycle
Several processes can turn one type of rock into
another type of rock. The key processes of the rock
cycle are crystallization, erosion and sedimentation,
and metamorphism.
Crystallization
Magma cools either underground or on the surface
and hardens into an igneous rock. As the magma
cools, different crystals form at different temperatures,
undergoing crystallization. For example, the mineral
olivine crystallizes out of magma at much higher
temperatures than quartz. The rate of cooling
determines how much time the crystals will have to
form. Slow cooling produces larger crystals.
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 EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE |MODULE 2
Erosion and Sedimentation What now?
Weathering wears rocks at the Earth’s surface down 1. Draw and label the arrangement of materials as
into smaller pieces. The small fragments are called seen inside the glass container.
sediments. Running water, ice, and gravity all 2. Why are the materials arranged in the said order?
transport these sediments from one place to another 3. How are sedimentary rocks formed?
by erosion. During sedimentation, the sediments
are laid down or deposited. In order to form a Generalization:
sedimentary rock, the accumulated sediment must Research on the present state of mining projects in
become compacted and cemented together. our country.

Metamorphism Posttest:On a separate sheet of paper, answer each

When a rock is exposed to extreme heat and pressure item correctly.
within the Earth but does not melt, the rock becomes
metamorphosed. Metamorphism may change the 1. What kind of rocks are formed by the process of
mineral composition and the texture of the rock. For lithification?
that reason, a metamorphic rock may have a new A. Igneous (Extrusive) C. Metamorphic
mineral composition and/or texture. B. Igneous (Intrusive) D. Sedimentary
Exercises: 2. A rock sample shows shell pieces in it. To what
type of rock does it belong?
A. TYPES OF ROCKS A. Igneous C. Sedimentary
B. Metamorphic D. Igneous (Extrusive)
Direction: Fill in the information about the three types
of rocks-- Igneous, Metamorphic, and Sedimentary. 3. Which is NOT TRUE about the rock cycle?
A. rocks are recycled
B. It shows that rock is lost forever.
C. It shows the rock’s journey as it changes.
How does Characteristics Where can D. It is a summary of the processes that change
TYPE OF ROCK this rock of this Rock you find this Examples
form type of rock
rock from one kind to another.

4. Which is the hardest mineral?

A. Calcite C. Quartz
IGNEOUS
B. Diamond D. Talc
SEDIMENTARY
METAMORPHIC
5. How is the texture described if an igneous rock
has large crystals and is coarse grained?
A. Aphanitic C. Glassy
B. HOW ARE SEDIMENTARY ROCKS FORMED? B. Aliphatic D. Phaneritic

Objective: To discover the different processes

involved in the formation of sedimentary rocks. References:
What you need? Pebbles, water, sand, gravel,
garden soil, wide mouthed transparent glass container Exploring Life through Science: Earth and Life
. Science by Jose Tolentino Olivar II and Anna Cherylle
Morales- Ramos Phoenix Publishing House, 2016
What to do?
Earth and Life Science: Teaching Guide for Senior
1. Place some pebbles, gravel, sand and garden soil;
in a wide mouthed glass container. High School; Philippine Normal University, published
2. Pour water into the container. Cover it lightly. by Commission on Higher Education
3. Shake the container so that the materials inside mix
Retrieved from:
well.
4. Leave the container undisturbed and let the http://dwam.ccrce.ca/sites/default/files/file_attachmen
materials stand. ts/rock%20worksheet.pdf
5. Observe the size and kind of materials that are
deposited from top to bottom.

What happened?

1. What happened to the different materials inside the

glass container when you left them undisturbed for a
while?
2. How are the materials arranged from top to bottom?

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EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE
LESSON 5: EXOGENIC PROCESSES (Erosion &
Deposition)
Most Essential Learning Competency:
● Explain how the products of weathering are
carried away by erosion and deposited
elsewhere (S11/12ES-Ib-12)
Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
● Identify the different agents of erosion and
deposition; and
● Describe characteristics, surface features and
landforms created and the processes that
contributed to their formation.
Pretest:
|MODULE 2
Recall:
Let the students prepare a tray containing sand.
Challenge them to think of as many ways as they can
to move the sand from one end of the tray to the other.
(*possible answers: blowing, tilting the tray, running
water, pushing, etc)
Unlocking Difficulties:
1. Weathering — the disintegration and
decomposition of rock at or near the Earth surface
2. Erosion — the incorporation and transportation of
material by a mobile agent such as water, wind,or ice
3. Weathering occurs in situ, that is, particles stay put
and no movement is involved. As soon as the
weathering product starts moving (due to fluid flow) we
call the process erosion.

Directions: Write the letter of the correct answer that
best completes the sentence or answers the question.
1. Which of these is NOT an example of physical
weathering?
A. Freeze-thaw
B. Acid rain falling on limestone
C. human activity such as mining
D. wind blowing sand onto a rock
2. What happens to pieces of rock as they are
transported by a river?
A. They get smaller and more rounded.
B. They get larger and more rounded.
C. They get smaller and more jagged.
D. They get larger and more jagged.
4. Weathering, erosion/transportation, and deposition
are exogenic processes that act in concert, but in
differing relative degrees, to bring about changes in
the configuration of the Earth’s surface.
Discussion:
Weathering is any process that breaks down rocks
and creates sediments. There are two forces of
weathering, chemical and mechanical (physical).
● Chemical weathering is decomposition of
rock caused by chemical reactions resulting
in formation of new compounds.
● Mechanical (physical) weathering is the
breakdown of rock into smaller pieces.

3. In hydration, water is an active agent of chemical

weathering. What happens when water loosely
combines with the minerals of the rock?
A. Cements them together.
B. Converts the mineral into another kind.
C. Transports the rock into another kind.
D. Weakens the molecular binding of the
minerals.

4. How do farming practices increase erosion?

I. By burning the crops.
II. By clearing the plants.
III. By allowing water to dry out.
IV. By allowing the animals to overgraze the grass
cover.
Erosion is the process by which natural forces move
weathered rock and soil from one place to
A. I & IV C. II & IV
another. Gravity, running water, glaciers, waves, and
B. III only D. I & III
wind all cause erosion. The material moved by
erosion is sediment.

5. What are the two things that affect the rate of

weathering?
A. Time and Date
B. Rain and Ice
C. Type of rock and climate
D. Size of rock and time of year

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EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE
Energy of Erosion
The energy for erosion comes from several sources.
Mountain building creates a disequilibrium within the
Earth's landscape because of the creation of
relief. Gravity acts to vertically move materials of
higher relief to lower elevations to produce
an equilibrium. Gravity also acts on the mediums of
erosion to cause them to flow to base level.
Solar radiation and its influence on atmospheric
processes is another source of energy for erosion.
Rainwater has a kinetic energy imparted to it when it
falls from the atmosphere. Snow has potential
energy when it is deposited in higher elevations. This
potential energy can be converted into the energy of
motion when the snow is converted into flowing glacial
ice. Likewise, the motion of air because of differences
in atmospheric pressure can erode surface material
when velocities are high enough to cause
particle entrainment.
The Erosion Sequence
Erosion can be seen as a sequence of three
events: detachment, entrainment, and transport.
These three processes are often closely related and
sometimes not easy distinguished between each
other. A single particle may undergo detachment,
entrainment, and transport many times.
Detachment
Erosion begins with the detachment of a particle
from surrounding material. Sometimes detachment
requires the breaking of bonds which hold particles
together. Many different types of bonds exist each with
different levels of particle cohesion. Some of the
strongest bonds exist between the particles found
within igneous rocks. In these materials, bonds are
derived from the growth of mineral crystals during
cooling. In sedimentary rocks, bonds are weaker and
are mainly caused by the cementing effect of
compounds such as iron oxides, silica, or calcium. The
particles found in soils are held together by even
weaker bonds which result from the cohesion effects
of water and the electro-chemical bonds found
in clay and particles of organic matter.
Entrainment
Entrainment is the process of particle lifting by the
agent of erosion. In many circumstances, it is hard to
distinguish between entrainment and detachment.
There are several forces that provide particles with a
resistance to this process. The most important force is
|MODULE 2
frictional resistance. Frictional resistance develops
from the interaction between the particle to its
surroundings. A number of factors increase frictional
resistance, including: gravity, particle slope angle
relative to the flow direction of the eroding medium,
particle mass, and surface roughness.
Entrainment Forces
The main force responsible for entrainment is fluid
drag. The strength of fluid drag varies with the mass
of the eroding medium (water is 9000 times more
dense than air) and its velocity. Fluid drag causes the
particle to move because of horizontal force and
vertical lift. Within a medium of erosion, both of these
forces are controlled by velocity. Horizontal force
occurs from the push of the agent against the particle.
If this push is sufficient to overcome friction and the
resistance of cohesive bonds, the particle moves
horizontally. The vertical lift is produced by turbulence
or eddies within the flow that push the particle upward.
Once the particle is lifted the only force resisting its
transport is gravity as the forces of friction, slope
angle, and cohesion are now non-existent. The
particle can also be transported at velocities lower
than the entrainment velocities because of the
reduction in forces acting on it.
Transport
Once a particle is entrained, it tends to move as long
as the velocity of the medium is high enough to
transport the particle horizontally. Within the
medium, transport can occur in four different ways:
● Suspension is where the particles are carried
by the medium without touching the surface of
their origin. This can occur in air, water, and
ice.
● Saltation is where the particle moves from
the surface to the medium in quick continuous
repeated cycles. The action of returning to the
surface usually has enough force to cause the
entrainment of new particles. This process is
only active in air and water.
● Traction is the movement of particles by
rolling, sliding, and shuffling along the eroded
surface. This occurs in all erosional mediums.
● Solution is a transport mechanism that
occurs only in aqueous environments.
Solution involves the eroded material being
dissolved and carried along in water as
individual ions.
Particle weight, size, shape, surface configuration,
and medium type are the main factors that determine
which of these processes operate.
Deposition
The erosional transport of material through the
landscape is rarely continuous. Instead, we find that
particles may undergo repeated cycles
of entrainment, transport,and deposition.
Transport depends on an appropriate balance of
forces within the transporting medium. A reduction in
the velocity of the medium, or an increase in the
5
EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE
resistance of the particles may upset this balance and
cause deposition. Reductions in competence can
occur in a variety of ways. Velocity can be reduced
locally by the sheltering effect of large rocks, hills,
stands of vegetation or other obstructions. Normally,
competence changes occur because of large scale
reductions in the velocity of flowing medium. For wind,
reductions in velocity can be related to variations in
spatial heating and cooling which create pressure
gradients and wind. In water, lower velocities can be
caused by reductions in discharge or a change in the
grade of the stream. Glacial flows of ice can become
slower if precipitation input is reduced or when the ice
encounters melting.
Deposition can also be caused by
particle precipitation and flocculation. Both of these
processes are active only in water. Precipitation is a
process where dissolved ions become solid because
of changes in the temperature or chemistry of the
water. Flocculation is a chemical process where salt
causes the aggregation of minute clay particles into
larger masses that are too heavy to remain
suspended.
Exercises:
A. Do Rocks Last Forever?
What you need? 3 or 4 different rocks, magnifying
glass, 3 or 4 ziploc bags, pencil, magnifying glass,
hammer
What to do?
1. Clean the rock samples by washing them.
2. Dry them after washing.
3. Label the rocks from 1 to 4.
4. Examine each rock using a magnifying glass.
5. Put the rocks inside a Ziploc bag.
6. Break the rocks into 2 or 3 pieces by hammering.
7. Investigate the insides of the rocks.
8. Scratch the exposed surface and the inside surface
of the rock.
What happened?
1. What is the color of the clean rock?
2. How will you describe the inner surface and the
outer surface of the rocks?
3. Are the surfaces equally hard? If not, why?
4. Did you notice other things on the rocks?
What now?
1. How will you relate the effects of environmental
conditions to the characteristics of rocks?
2. What are those environmental factors that affect the
changed conditions of rocks?
B. Rocks Attack!
What you need? Brown sugar, beaker, shallow tray
or baking tray, pipette or syringe, access to sink,
wooden block, water
What to do?
1. Let one edge of the tray hang over the sink.
|MODULE 2
2. Place a wooden block under one end so that the
tray slopes down the sink.
3. Put a small mound of brown sugar in the middle of
the tray.
4. Fill a beaker with water.
5. Use a pipette and pour water gently on top of the
mound.
What happened?
1. How will you describe the effect when water was
poured on the mound of sugar?
2. What other things occurred as more water poured
on it while the tray sloped down on the sink.
What now?
1. What does the mound of sugar represent?
2. What is the agent of erosion in this?
3. What process or processes are involved?
C. Rocks Attack! Part 2
What you need? Baking tray, sand, pipette or
syringe, water, wooden block
What to do?
1. Repeat steps A and B of Part I.
2. This time, place a small mound of dry sand on the
tray.
3. Gently drip water onto dry sand using the pipette or
syringe.
4. Place again a small mound of dry san on the tray.
5. This time, pour water using a beaker.
6. Repeat steps B to D here, this time using a heap of
wet sand.
What happened?
1. What did you observe on the action of water with
the dry sand? With the wet sand?
2. Is there any difference? If yes, what accounts for
this?
What now?
1. What does the dry sand represent? The wet sand?
2. What does pouring of water from a beaker and not
from a syringe represent?
3. How will you explain the effect of water as it impacts
on rocks?
Generalization:
Create a case study report of places that experienced
the worst result of weathering and erosion in the
Philippines.
Posttest: On a separate sheet of paper, answer
each item correctly.
1. What is the process where sediments are
dropped off in a new location?
A. Deposition C. Compaction
B. Transport D. Cementation
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EARTH AND LIFE SCIENCE |MODULE 2
2. What is the name of the cave formation that
hangs from the ceiling?
A.column C. stalagmite
B. stalactite D. web

3. What is the term for the materials that are picked

up and moved by wind and water?
A. Clast C. rocks
B. debris D. sediments

4. Which of the following anthropogenic activities

has resulted in an increased rate of weathering?
A. The release of too much carbon dioxide in the
air that turns rain onto “acid rain”.
B. The physical disintegration of rocks during
construction and mining.
C. Both A and B.
D. Neither A nor B.

5. Which of the following conditions promotes slow

chemical weathering?
A. fracturing C. high rainfall
B. thick soil D. cold temperatures

References:

Exploring Life through Science: Earth and Life

Science by Jose Tolentino Olivar II and Anna Cherylle
Morales- Ramos Phoenix Publishing House, 2016

Earth and Life Science: Teaching Guide for Senior

High School; Philippine Normal University, published
by Commission on Higher Education

Retrieved from:

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10w.
html

https://clarkscience8.weebly.com/weathering-
erosion-deposition.html