Download Rock Cookie Lab

Rock Cookie Lab
1. Answer the following questions before beginning the lab
a. What are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks?
b. How are different rocks formed?
c. How do various types of rocks fit into the rock cycle?
d. Why are rocks different from each other?
2. Write a life story of each of the 3 main types of rocks: metamorphic, sedimentary, igneous. Each story needs
to be a paragraph, not 3-4 sentences.
a. Make sure to identify the forces involved in forming these rocks and the resulting appearance
b. Share some stories with the class
3. Answer the following questions about minerals. For example, the mineral talc is made into talcum powder,
fluoride is in our toothpaste, and gypsum is in the walls of our houses.
a. Why are rocks and minerals important to us?
b. How have they been used in the past?
c. How are they used today?
d. How do the minerals get from inside the earth to their current use?
4. Create a diagram of the rock cycle without using any outside material.
5. Examine the cookies you have been given and follow the directions on the Cookie Lab rule/info sheet (make
sure not to touch the cookies with your hands)
a. You need to separate your cookies into the 3 categories of rocks and give detailed written
explanations why you put them into those categories.
b. There are no wrong categories unless you don’t have a valid explanation
c. Make sure to create the chart below to organize your cookies
Cookie 1
Cookie 2
Cookie 3
Cookie 4
Smell
Shape
Color
Texture
Type of Rock
Explanation why
the cookie is that
type of rock
Texture = fine grained, coarse grained, glassy, frothy/bubbly
Final Questions for Cookie Lab:
1. How are rocks and chocolate chip cookies similar?
2. Describe how each other cookie you examined was similar to real rocks.
3. Which cookies are most alike? Why?
4. Which cookies are least alike? Why?
5. Does cookie dough look like the finished product? Why or why not?
6. How would the cookies be different if you baked them for
a. Half the time required
b. Twice as long as required
c. At a lower temperature
d. At a higher temperature
7. What would happen to the cookies if you heated them in a pan on the stove top? What type of rock would
this be? Why?
8. What about cooking in the oven? What type of rock would this be similar too? Why?
9. Break one cookie in half. Is the texture on the inside the same as on the outside? How is this similar or
different from real rocks?
10. If you took a cookie hot out of the oven and threw it in the air, do you think it would change shape? What
would happen when it landed? What type of rock is this similar too?