Download Geology - Bradford Woods

Geology
Concepts:
 The surface of the earth changes over long periods of time as a result of many forces.
 Rocks are classified into three categories based upon how they have been formed.
 Rock and soil formation is a cyclical process that occurs over many millions of years.
Objectives:
 The students will name and
show examples of the three
main classifications of rock.
 The students will explore various ways that the surface of
the earth changes due to water, wind, glaciers, sedimentation, and tectonic plate theory
(earthquakes and fault lines).
 The students will be able to
explain the rock cycle.
 The students will give examples of minerals.
Time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Activities in Lesson:






What is Geology? (10 min)
Ride the Rock Cycle (25 min)
Which Rock is Your Rock? (20 min)
Hard as a Rock (30 min)
Geology Bingo (15 min)
Chip Mining (15 min)
Equipment:











Pencils, clipboards, paper
Hard as a Rock Chart
Rock ID chart
Mineral detective sheet
Rock Test Kit (HCl, streak
plate, magnet, penny, nail,
glass plate)
Hand lenses
BINGO cards/chips
Rock sample kit
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Toothpicks; napkins or plates
Play money
Note to Teacher:
This lesson begins with activities
that help explain geology and
what a geologist is. The lesson
progresses to provide examples of
geology that we can see, rock outcroppings, etc., then geology that
we can not see, such as the center of the earth. The lesson culminates with the methods, namely
mining, used to obtain these rocks
and the minerals that make them
up from their natural environments.
Vocabulary
Erosion– the group of natural
processes, including weathering,
dissolution, abrasion, corrosion,
and transportation, by which material is worn away from the
Earth's surface.
Geology—the scientific study of
the origin, history, and structure
of the earth.
Glacier– a huge mass of ice
slowly flowing over a land mass,
formed from compacted snow in
an area where snow accumulation exceeds melting and sublimation.
Igneous- type of rock formed by
solidification from a molten state.
Lamina— A narrow bed of rock.
Luster — The appearance of a
mineral surface judged by its brilliance and ability to reflect light.
(metallic, earthy, waxy, greasy,
vitreous/glossy, adamantine/
brilliance as in a faceted diamond)
Metamorphic– type of rock
changed in structure or composition as a result of pressure/heat/
chemical change.
Mineral– a naturally occurring,
homogeneous inorganic solid
substance having a definite
chemical composition and characteristic crystalline structure,
color, and hardness.
Rock– relatively hard, naturally
formed mineral or petrified matter; stone.
Sedimentary– of or relating to
rocks formed by the deposition
of rock and mineral particles.
Specific Gravity — The ratio of
the mass of a solid or liquid to
the mass of an equal amount of
distilled water at 4º Celsius.
Tectonic Plate– pieces of the
Earth’s crust and uppermost
mantle (referred to as the lithosphere) that move, float, and
sometimes fracture. Their interaction causes continental drift,
earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, and oceanic trenches.
57
Geology
What is Geology? (10 min)
1. Begin by asking the students:
 What is geology? (The most common answer to this question will probably be the
study of rocks and minerals. Another common answer might be: the study of the
earth, or the study of how the earth is
formed.)
 What does a geologist do?
 Where do geologists work?
 Can geologists always see what they study?
 Does what they study always remain the
same?
2. Begin to get the students to think about the
shape of the land. Has it always been the same
shape? What are some ways either by acting
on the surface or from underneath the surface
of the earth, the geography of land has
changed (either natural or human)? (Some answers might include: wind storms, glaciers, sedimentation, rain, earthquakes, volcanoes,
mountain formation, rivers flowing through canyons, or human activity such as mining, construction or farming.) As each student names a
force that shapes the earth, ask the student to
describe exactly how that force works. For example:
 Wind storms: May loosen soil particles from
a hillside and blow them into a stream.
 Rain: When on a rock face, may break off
some pieces of rock.
 Glaciers: Moving slowly over a landscape
over thousands of years will scrape up
rocks as it moves and then leave those
rocks where it melts.
3. Help the students identify wind storms, rain,
human activity such as construction, and movement of large bodies of water (river, streams,
and lakes) as causes of erosion. Help the students identify volcanoes, earthquakes and
mountain formations as the result of magma
and plate movement under the Earth’s surface.
4. Ask the students to think about those three
forces: erosion, plate movement and magma
flow. Of which they would observe the most evidence on Indiana’s landscape? Have them
think about how they know this.
5. Ask the students to look for sources of erosion as they travel around today. Tell them that
for each source of erosion they see they will
receive a point, and see who can get the most
points by the end of the lesson.
**Note: A good location would be any area near a
ravine or steep hill (Sunshine Trail), possibly with
exposed bedrock and/or Sycamore Creek or an intermittent streambed. It also would be preferable to
be in an area near a trail that slopes down a hill to
demonstrate erosion caused by human use of an
area.**
Ride the Rock Cycle (25 min)
(Adapted from Illinois State Museum Geology
Online http://geologyonline.museum.state.il.us)
Materials: paper, pencil, rock cycle blocks/cards
1. Talk about the various stages that rocks go
through during their journey here on earth. See
background about how rocks change and move
over and around the earth.
2. Set out cards and corresponding blocks in a
large playing area.
3. Each student starts at a different station.
They should write down the station they've
started at. Then they roll the die and write down
where they move to (the location written on the
side facing upward), and proceed to their next
station. (Upon rolling they may have to stay at
that station and should go to the end of the line
so others have an opportunity to roll.)
4. Once they have gone through the designated
stations (seven rolls of the dice), bring the
whole group together to discuss how they have
gone through the rock cycle.
Which Rock is Your Rock? (20 min)
Materials: pencil, paper, clipboard, hand lenses.
1. Have each student select a rock from within
a given boundary. The rock they choose should
be small enough to fit in their hand. Once everyone has selected a rock, have the students
gather together again.
2. Tell the students that geologists spend time
carefully looking at their specimens in order to
determine ways to explain things about them.
Ask them: what are some ways they may do
this?
58
Geology
3. Have them use more than just their eyesight
to create a description for their rock. They
should consider size, weight, color, shape, etc.,
when writing their descriptions.
4. Students should then place their rock in one
pile and their description (folded up) into another pile. When all of the descriptions and rocks
are in their piles, let each student grab a description and begin to detect the appropriate
rock.
5. After everyone believes they have the appropriate rock, go around in a circle and have each
student read the description and show the rock
they selected. The owner of the description can
only tell them if they are correct or not, they
should not point to the correct rock until after
everyone has had a turn to read their descriptions.
6. Next, have the students gather up their remaining rocks and put them into pairs. You will
then remind them that they are still playing the
role of geologists. They have had practice describing their rocks and now they will have practice classifying their rocks.
7. Ask them how they could classify rocks.
Have them write down some of these ideas.
With each pair using all of the rocks they have,
they will need to come up with ways to classify
their rocks. Examples might be: rocks that are
dark in color and rocks that are not, rocks that
are heavy and rocks that are light, or rocks that
fit in the palm of your hand and rocks that do
not.
8. Students should make lists of the ways they
classified their rocks on one piece of paper and
have another piece of paper with two circles
drawn on it. With this they can physically place
the rocks into the different classes.
9. Tell each group they should have at least 10
different classifications and that they will be
asked to share their methods of classification.
Hard as a Rock (30 min)
Materials: rock/mineral testing kit, rock sample
kit, hammer, hard as a rock chart, rock ID
sheet.
**Note: A good location is the banks of Sycamore
Creek or Fern Valley in the intermittent streambed.**
1. Review with the students how rocks are
formed. Show an example of each and teach
them the rock cycle song or play geology “rock,
paper, scissors.”
 Igneous rocks are formed as hot magma
cools after it is released through a volcano
or is pushed by tectonic plate movement
toward the cool crust of the earth. Igneous
rocks are found in areas where volcanoes
are currently active or where volcanoes
were active many thousands or millions of
years ago.
 Sedimentary rocks are formed over time
as layers of pebbles, sand and silt are deposited in an area and compressed. Often
sedimentary rocks are formed under water.
 Metamorphic rocks are formed when heat
from magma and/or pressure from plate
movement change one kind of rock into another. Metamorphic rocks are often found in
mountainous areas.
2. Divide the students into pairs or small
groups. Hand each group a rock from the sample kit—make sure each rock is labeled with a
letter/number.
3. The students will fill in the information on
their “Hard as a Rock” chart. The students will
be recording information regarding the properties of their rock that can help in the identification process. They will also be using the Quick
Rock Key to determine whether or not the rock
may be an igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rock.
4. To test for smell: Have the students simply
smell the rock with their noses and write down if
it has an odor or not. If so, have them write
what they think it smells like.
5. To test for color: Have the students note the
colors they see in the rock.
6. To test for luster: Have the students hold up
the rock to the sun and see if they notice any
sparkling, or if the rock still remains dull. Have
them record the amount of luster that exists.
7. To test for feel: Have the students hold the
rock with their eyes closed and write down how
the rock feels.
8. To test for streak: The students will use the
59
Geology
white porcelain streak plate, making a single
scratch on the plate with each rock. Have them
record the color of the residue left behind.
9. To test for magnetism: The students will use
the magnet provided to determine if any of the
rocks contain a metal.
10. To test for weight: The students should
choose another pair’s rock for comparison purposes and note the number of that rock on their
sheet. The students should then hold this
benchmark rock in one hand and their test rock
in their other hand, then decide which one feels
heavier. In the weight column the students
should mark an arrow pointing upward if the
rock feels heavier than their benchmark rock on
downward if the rock feels lighter than their
benchmark rock.
11. To test for hardness: The students should
use the scale at the bottom of their paper for
this test. On the Moh's Scale of Hardness, a
rating of 1 is the softest and a rating of 10 is the
hardest. If the rock can be scratched easily with
a fingernail, the rating is 2.5 or below. Rocks
that can be scratched easily with a copper penny have a rating of 3.5 or below. A rating of 5.5
or lower can be given to rocks easily scratched
with a nail. The glass will be scratched by a
rock of 6.5 hardness or higher.
12. To test for fizz: The students will drop a
small amount of an acidic solution (HCl) on
each rock and record whether or not the solution fizzes like soda pop. If the solution fizzes,
the rock contains calcium and is most likely
limestone.
13. After everyone has completed their charts, it
is time for them to identify their rocks. Have
them use the Rock ID sheet to fill in their rock’s
letter/number above the description that most
closely matches their findings. Have each group
determine through this sheet and their investigations, the names of their rocks.
14. Go over the correct answers with the students. Have them count the number of igneous,
metamorphic and sedimentary rocks they have
found. If using rocks they found in the area, the
majority of the students’ rocks will be sedimentary because most of the bedrock in this area is
sedimentary. The students will probably not find
any limestone, as the bedrock at Bradford
Woods is mostly mudstone or siltstone. Any igneous rocks found in the area were probably
transported to this area by the Illinoisan glacier.
The students may find a few metamorphic
rocks, but this is fairly unlikely.
Repeat this process with the rocks students
found for the previous activity as well as with
other sample kit rocks, as time permits.
Geology Bingo (15 min)
Materials: Bingo cards, question sheet, Bingo
markers (cards and markers can be found on the R:
drive, under “ee” in the “instructor resources” folder,
entitled “Geology Bingo”)
1. Explain to your students that this activity will
be a chance to share what they’ve learned —by
playing Bingo. Hand out a Bingo card to each
student and make sure everyone has access to
the markers. (You can also do this as a paired
activity)
2. The object of this activity is to cover enough
squares on the card to get a “bingo.” This can
be achieved by covering a row across, a column down, the diagonal stripes from corner to
corner, all four corners, or a postage stamp (the
four squares in the top right corner).
3. Read a question from the sheet and ask a
student with his/her hand raised to answer.
Once the correct answer has been provided,
everyone may place a marker on that square on
their bingo card.
4. When a student has a “bingo,” they shout out
“Bingo!” Continue play until all of the questions
have been answered. At the end of the activity,
review any terms that were difficult for the students to recall.
Chip Mining (15 min)
Materials: chocolate chip cookies, toothpicks,
play money, plates or napkins.
1. Begin by asking the students:
 Why does it matter if we know this rock contains specific minerals?
 What good are the minerals?
 What do we use minerals for?
 How do we get minerals from the rocks?
60
Geology
2. Discuss a few products that we use that require minerals that must be mined. For example
we use toothpaste with fluoride, and fluoride
comes from the mineral fluorite.
3. Explain to the students that we use natural
resources, including minerals, to create things
we use on a daily basis and that is not likely to
change. However, it is important to share with
the students that consumption levels can be
changed. Discuss this issue briefly with your
students. Remember at Bradford Woods we
teach our students how to think, not what to
think.
stone=chalk, zinc oxide=sunscreen, box of
phosphorus and sulfur=matches) and cons of
mining (habitat destruction, water pollution,
earth scars, elimination of minerals). Discuss
with the students that we need minerals but we
also need to protect the earth, and have them
come up with ideas to accomplish both.
4. Tell the students that these minerals are
mined from the Earth and that it is very important that mines are operated safely and responsibly. Today the students will get the
chance to be miners. They are going to be mining for gold nuggets.
5. As you pass out the cookies, have them look
carefully at where the chocolate chips are located. Have the students imagine those chips are
nuggets of gold you want removed from the
earth (cookie) with your tools (toothpicks) to use
in your jewelry factory. They will be paid
$500.00 for each whole nugget (chip) they
mine.
6. To make sure you take good care of the
earth, you will have to pay a $100.00 fine for
every broken cookie piece that is larger than a
pencil eraser.
7. Pass out the play money as nuggets are
mined and take back money when the earth is
damaged.
8. Discuss how much they earned in the chip
mining project. Ask the students how their Earth
looked after the mining process. Ask if they
think this is true of real mining practices.
9. Discuss mining. Have the students list the
pros (have them list or discuss some items in
their everyday lives that are made out of materials that come from the earth, for example: calcium=milk, sodium chloride=salt, fluoride=toothpaste, clay pellets=cat litter, diamond
dust=on finger nail files, box of phosphorus,
magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, and calcium=Cheerios cereal, graphite=pencils, lime-
61
Geology
Evaluation:
Notes:
√ Students can name and show examples of
the three main classifications of rock.
√ Students can state various ways that the surface of the earth changes due to water, wind,
glaciers, sedimentation, and tectonic plate
theory (earthquakes and fault lines).
√ Students can explain the rock cycle.
√ Students can give examples of minerals that
we use in daily life.
Keep in Mind:
It is not important that your students can correctly identify every rock they pick up; however,
it is important that they understand that there
are similarities and differences between rocks,
in their make up and composition as well as
their creation.
When doing the last activity that concerns mining, remember that we want to provide students
with the facts in a non biased approach.
Back in the Classroom
Investigate and map fault lines in your community. Read accounts of the earthquakes in Indiana and of the earthquakes that have affected
Indiana. Prepare a display for your school
teaching others what they should do to prepare
for an earthquake, what they should do during
an earthquake, and what they should do after
an earthquake. Indiana has had powerful earthquakes in the past and probably will again.
62
Background
What is Geology?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines geology as, “a science that deals with the history of
the earth and its life esp. as recorded in rocks;
a study of the features of a celestial body (as
the moon); the geological features of an area
(17) .” Geology is a broad subject encompassing not only the identification of rocks and minerals, but also the movement of the Earth’s
plates or seismic activity (talked about so frequently in the news following an earthquake).
What Activities Shape the Earth?
Windstorms
Glaciers
Sedimentation
Rain
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Mountain formation
Rivers flowing through canyons
Human activity such as mining, construction or
farming
High mountains and deep valleys make the surface of the Earth rough and uneven. It seems to
us that the Earth’s surface does not change, but
most of the mountains and the valleys we see
today are really the result of changes. These
changes happen so slowly that we are not
aware of them. Some changes, however, take
place rapidly.
Volcanoes
Volcanoes cause the most rapid changes in the
Earth’s surface. Pockets of hot melted rock,
called magma, in the Earth are the beginnings
of volcanoes. Pressure caused by the weight of
rock above these pockets or by gas and steam
push the hot liquid upward. When a crack develops in the solid rock above the pocket, the
hot liquid is forced up through it. When the liquid rock is forced out, we say a volcano explodes or erupts. The melted rock flows over
the surface of the Earth and again becomes
solid rock. Gradually, a mountain builds around
the opening.
What is an Active Volcano?
Volcanoes that send out melted rock or spout
smoke and fire are called active volcanoes.
When a volcano sends out melted rock, it is
said to be erupting. This hot, flowing mineral is
called lava when it appears above the ground.
Some active volcanoes spout smoke and fire
for years but never erupt. They are still considered active volcanoes.
The opening through which smoke, fire, and
lava come is called the mouth or crater. Sometimes the lava bubbles and boils in this crater
and does not overflow. The boiling lava causes
steam and smoke to appear around the top of
some volcanoes.
Volcanic eruptions are not always alike. Sometimes lava flows slowly and quietly out of the
crater. Sometimes terrible explosions blow it
high into the air. How it erupts depends on the
amount of pressure forcing the lava out of the
crater.
What is a Dead Volcano?
A volcano is said to be dead when it has been
quiet for so long that no one expects it to erupt
again. Dead volcanoes do not always stay
dead. Sometimes, after they have been quiet
for many years, they start erupting again. Some
of the worst eruptions have been of volcanoes
that everyone believed were dead. Scientists
can never be sure that a volcano is dead and
because of this they would rather say a volcano
is dormant.
Where are Volcanoes Found?
Most volcanoes are found near the coasts of
continents. The west coasts of North and South
America contain all the volcanoes of these two
continents. In Africa; the volcanoes are near the
shores of either the Indian or Atlantic oceans.
There is also a belt of volcanic islands in the
Pacific Ocean, along the coasts of Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
Destruction Caused by Volcanoes
Volcanoes have caused much destruction in the
world. Many people lose their farms, houses,
vineyards, and their lives due to volcanoes.
However, because the ground is so fertile people often return to their homes when the eruption is over.
Useful Products of Volcanoes
Volcanoes can cause much damage and de-
63
Background
struction, but in the long run they also have
benefits. The physical breakdown and chemical
weathering of volcanic rocks have formed some
of the most fertile soils on Earth.
Most of the metallic minerals mined in the
world, such as copper, gold, silver, lead, and
zinc, are associated with magmas found deep
within the roots of extinct volcanoes. Rising
magma does not always reach the surface to
erupt. Instead, it may slowly cool and harden
beneath the volcano to form a variety of granite
rocks.
Oil and natural gas are the products of the deep
burial and decomposition of accumulated organic material in basins beside mountain ranges formed by plate-tectonic processes.
Hot springs, heated by volcanic heat, help heal
some diseases. Hot springs are also used for
bathing and laundry purposes in some countries. In some places, there are experiments in
which volcanic steam is used. This is called geothermal energy and is used to run factories
and plants. Geothermal heat warms more than
70% of the homes in Iceland, and is also used
to produce electricity to meet the power needs
of large cities.
Another product of volcanoes is pumice. Pumice, a kind of volcanic rock, is used for grinding
and polishing. Some Native Americans used
obsidian, another kind of volcanic rock, for
tools. Sulfur is also found near volcanoes.
Mountains
Mountains are formed in several different ways.
One way is by the eruption of a volcano. This is
the fastest way a mountain can be formed. The
making of mountains in other ways sometimes
takes thousands of years.
ground. This makes mountains that are steep
on one side and sloping on the other.
Other mountains are made when magma pushes between layers of rocks and makes them
rise above the ground.
Mountains supply water for many people who
live in valleys and plains. The snow and ice on
mountains melt in the warmer seasons and the
water runs down the slopes as clear, cold
mountain streams.
Earthquakes
Have there been earthquakes in Indiana? Yes.
There have been seismic waves generated by
powerful earthquakes in the past and there
probably will be again.
There were three major earthquakes recorded
over the winter of 1811-1812 in New Madrid,
Missouri. These earthquakes all registered with
a magnitude greater than 8.0. The shocks were
felt all over the Midwest, including Indiana.
In early 1812, two powerful quakes occurring
near and in the small town of New Madrid in
what is now southeastern Missouri shook the
earth with enough force to cause church bells to
ring in Washington, D.C. They were strongly felt
throughout Indiana and were even felt a thousand miles away in Boston.
Evansville experienced damage from an 1895
earthquake (estimated magnitude 6.2). The
strongest earthquake with its epicenter in Indiana happened in 1899, near Portersville in Dubois County. That earthquake had a magnitude
of 5.2. In 1987, Indiana residents may have felt
an earthquake (5.0 magnitude) centered near
Lawrenceville, Illinois, just west of Vincennes.
Folding is another way mountains are formed.
Folding is a gradual pushing up of the Earth’s
surface by great pressure on the sides of rock
layers. This pressure bends the layers of rock
upward like an arch.
Most recently, Southwestern Indiana felt an
earthquake at 5:36 on April 18, 2008. The
earthquakes epicenter was in Mt. Carmel, Illinois, about 38 miles northwest of Evansville,
and it registered a 5.2 magnitude. It was felt
here at Bradford Woods!
Faulting is yet another way mountains are
formed. Instead of bending under pressure, the
rock layers break and form mountains. As the
rock breaks, the edges rise sharply above the
Earthquakes in Indiana in the past 200 years or
so have been minor events but there is research that has shown substantial earthquake
activity thousands of years ago.
64
Background
The main theory that guides geologists when
studying earthquakes is that of plate tectonics.
This theory says that the continents and oceans
are sitting on movable plates. These plates
move by convection currents and when two
plates are pushed together so tightly and the
stress becomes too much, they slip and the result is an earthquake. The area where the two
plates build up pressure and then slip is the
fault line. The currents that move the plates of
the Earth may also cause rips in the plates
themselves. If a continent is over such a rip, it
will also rip.
The Mississippi River Valley was formed by
several attempts at rips. None of the attempts
managed to break the crust of the Earth but the
movement did create several fault lines, one
being the New Madrid fault. There are few
faults near the surface in Indiana but there are
many deeply buried faults.
Geologists have no way of predicting earthquakes yet, but they can look at how a particular area may react to an earthquake based on
the soil composition.
Prehistoric Indiana Earthquakes
The point on the Earth's surface directly above
the center of an earthquake is called the epicenter. During the last two centuries, earthquakes with epicenters in Indiana have been
relatively minor events. This has not always
been the case. Geologists have recently discovered evidence that suggests the occurrence of
at least four major earthquakes with epicenters
in Indiana within the last few thousand years.
One of these quakes occurred near Vincennes
about 6,000 years ago and has been estimated
to have been many times more powerful than
the 6.7-magnitude quake that struck the Los
Angeles area in January 1994.
What Causes Earthquakes?
An earthquake is a shaking of the Earth caused
by the sudden release of energy that results
when two bodies of rock in the Earth's crust are
under so much stress that they suddenly break
and slide past one another. The area of contact
between the two bodies of rock is called a fault,
and the direction of motion of the bodies may
be horizontal, vertical, or a combination of these
motions. The force that causes the stress within
the rock is a result of the movement of giant
sections of the Earth's outer layer.
According to the theory of plate tectonics, the
outer layer of the Earth is divided into huge
plates, like a cracked eggshell. Convection currents, which permit heat to escape from the
Earth’s interior, move the plates at a rate of
about one to ten inches per year, carrying with
them continental landmasses and the ocean
floor. Sometimes the convection currents that
cause the plates to move will cause them to rip
apart. If a continent happens to be sitting over
the tear, then it too will be torn, or rifted, apart.
This rifting apparently occurred nearly 600 million years ago and then again about 100 million
years ago. The drifting apart of the rocks
caused the formation of many faults that remain
as a zone of weakness in the Earth's crust.
Compressional forces acting on the North
American plate are causing movement, earthquakes, along the faults.
Earthquake in Indiana’s Future?
The ability to accurately predict earthquakes is
not yet possible, but seismologists have made
progress in assessing the probability of an
earthquake occurring in a certain region within
a given number of years. With the use of data
from the historical record of earthquakes in the
U.S. mid-continent, it has been predicted there
is an 86% to 97% chance of a 6.3-magnitude
earthquake occurring in the New Madrid zone
within the next 50 years.
Glaciers
Glaciers can be thought of as rivers of ice,
slowly flowing from their source to their final
destination. Rates of ice flow range widely, but
it is thought that the glaciers that affected Indiana probably moved relatively rapidly because
they had abundant water at their bases to help
lubricate their sliding motion over their beds.
This sliding motion allows a vast amount of older rock and sediment to be eroded from the bed
of the glacier, where it becomes frozen into the
lower part of the ice.
In Indiana, countless tens of feet of soil and
bedrock were stripped off the landscape and redeposited down-glacier, along with even larger
quantities derived from areas farther north. It is
not surprising that the deposits of Ice Age glaci-
65
Background
ers are the dominant materials in the Indiana
landscape today.
Ice Age
The ice age refers to the period of geologic time
encompassing the past 2 to 3 million years or
so when the Earth's higher and mid-latitudes
experienced widespread glaciation by huge
continental-scale ice sheets. The ice age is the
most recent of several periods of widespread
glaciation that have affected the Earth. The geologic record indicates that major episodes of
glaciation occurred at least as far back as 2.4
billion years.
The global climate during the Ice Age was
much colder than the mild one we inhabit today.
The best evidence suggests that, globally, the
average air temperature was cooler by some 6
to 12 degrees Celsius, and daily temperature at
Indiana latitudes fluctuated seasonally almost
as much as they do today. There is little doubt
that global weather patterns were substantially
different, causing large regions in northern and
eastern Canada to receive massive amounts of
snowfall and to remain below freezing most of
the year. Year after year, the layers of unmelted
snow continued to compact into dense ice under their own weight, forming ice caps similar to
those of Antarctica today. These great landmasses of ice began to flow under the stress of
their own weight, and the continental sheets
were born.
The very first ice sheet that entered Indiana appears to have arrived before 700,000 years ago
and came straight from the north (what is now
Michigan). We know this because the sediments associated with this earliest glacier are
choked with fragments of coal, sandstone, and
distinctive reddish claystone, all rocks that
come only from the center of Michigan.
Ground water supplies some 90% of the Indiana population with all water used for domestic
consumption and associated economic activity,
and nearly all of the major aquifers that yield
this ground water are a direct consequence of
glaciation. The major rivers where our communities have been established and the utilization
of them for our major recreational resources are
all former glacial rivers that drained the melting
ice sheets.
Local Ice Age Remnants
Bradford Woods
The silt deposits and stream systems at Bradford Woods are results of the Illinoisan glacier,
which melted in this area and washed soil into
the White River Valley.
Martinsville
Martinsville is situated in a several-mile-wide
plain of sand and gravel deposited by glacial
meltwater flowing down the White River Valley.
Bedrock hills of siltstone can be seen protruding
through the outwash at several places. The
sand and gravel is a major source of groundwater for many communities, such as Martinsville
and Indianapolis. The large ridge that the road
ascends just north of Martinsville is the remnant
of a large outwash fan deposited by an ice
sheet of Illinoisian age, some 300,000 years
ago.
Morgan-Monroe County Line, Bryants Creek
The county line marks the approximate extent
of glaciers in south central Indiana during the
Ice Age. The slope to the west of the road is
underlain by up to 50 feet of glacial deposits
plastered in the bedrock hill. Bryants Creek
formed along the margin of this glacier and contains abundant far-traveled rocks, such as granite, that were carried from Canada by the ice.
Rocks
If the rock is an Igneous Rock:
 It may be colored.
 It may have shiny flecks of mineral crystals
in it that reflect light (look at rock with hand
lens).
 The different colored minerals in the rock
will be stuck together in no particular pattern.
These are formed either from magma liquefied
and then cooled deep within the earth, called
intrusive, or from lava spewed as liquid from
volcanoes and then cooled on the Earth’s surface, called extrusive. Examples include granite, basalt, and pumice.
If the rock is a Metamorphic Rock:
 It may be many colored.
 It may have shiny flecks of mineral crystals
that reflect light.
 The different colored minerals in the rock
will form a pattern of stripes, spots or swirls.
66
Background
These are formed when igneous or sedimentary
rocks are subjected to changes in the Earth’s
pressure and/or temperature. Changes may
occur when igneous rocks within the earth are
subjected to the movement of the Earth’s plates
in mountain building regions or when igneous or
sedimentary rocks are near areas of volcanic
activity.
If the rock is a Sedimentary Rock:
 It will look as if it has layers.
 It may have fossils in it.
These consist of particles worn from preexisting rocks and then deposited on sea or riverbeds. Water pressure causes these particles
to cement together along with mud, silt and other organic matter. These rocks all form in layers
and break along layered surfaces. Fossils are
almost exclusively found in this type of rock
from plants and animals trapped in the sediment layers. Examples include limestone, flint,
and shale.
Types of Rocks
Dolomite
 Color is often pink or pinkish and can be
colorless, white, yellow, gray or even brown or
black when iron is present in the crystal.
 Luster is pearly to vitreous to dull.
 Transparency crystals are transparent to
translucent.
 Hardness is 3.5-4
 Specific Gravity is 2.86 (average)
 Streak is white.
 Other Characteristics: Unlike calcite, effervesces weakly with warm acid or when first
powdered with cold HCl.
 Associated Minerals: include calcite, sulfide ore minerals, fluorite, barite, quartz and occasionally with gold.
Best Field Indicators are typical pink color,
crystal habit, hardness, slow reaction to acid,
density and luster.
Gypsum
Color is usually white, colorless or gray, but
can also be shades of red, brown and yellow.
 Luster is vitreous to pearly especially on
cleavage surfaces.
 Fracture is uneven but rarely seen.
 Hardness is 2 and can be scratched by a

fingernail.
 Specific Gravity is approximately 2.3+
(light)
 Streak is white.
 Associated Minerals are halite, calcite,
sulfur, pyrite, borax and many others.
 Other Characteristics: thin crystals are
flexible but not elastic, meaning they can be
bent but will not bend back on their own. Also
some samples are fluorescent. Gypsum has a
very low thermal conductivity (hence it's use in
drywall as an insulating filler). A crystal of Gypsum will feel noticeably warmer than a like crystal of quartz.
Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, flexible
crystals, cleavage and hardness.
Limestone (made up of the mineral Calcite)
Color is extremely variable but generally
white or colorless or with light shades of yellow,
orange, blue, pink, red, brown, green, black and
gray. Occasionally iridescent.
 Luster is vitreous to resinous to dull in massive forms.
 Transparency: Crystals are transparent to
translucent.
 Cleavage is perfect in three directions,
forming rhombohedrons.
 Fracture is conchoidal.
 Hardness is 3 (only on the basal pinacoidal
faces, calcite has a hardness of less than 2.5
and can be scratched by a fingernail).
 Specific Gravity is approximately 2.7
(average)
 Streak is white.
 Associated Minerals are numerous but
include these classic associations: Fluorite,
quartz, barite, sphalerite, galena, celestite, sulfur, gold, copper, emerald, apatite, biotite, zeolites, several metal sulfides, other carbonates
and borates and many other minerals.
Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, reaction to acid, abundance, hardness, double refraction and especially cleavage.
http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/
hardness.htm




Glacial Till Chert
Texture is medium to fine.
Luster tends to be waxy.
Color ranges from white to gray, with lighter
67
Background
values most common.
 A wide variety of fossils will be present including sponge spicules, brachiopods, bryozoans, corals, and crinoid columnals.
 The Glacial Till Cherts will display a wide
variety of structural variations to include voids,
druse, iron oxide lined voids, mineral inclusions
in crystalline form, non-crystalline accretions,
and oolites.
Scientists believe that Glacial cobbles were
commonly thermally altered. Heat treatment
will produce orange, pink, and red tones in the
matrix. Luster will be enhanced.
http://virtual.parkland.edu/lstelle1/len/
biface_guide/chert/documents/glacial_till.html
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock whose
original constituents were clays or muds. It is
characterized by thin laminae breaking with an
irregular curving fracture, often splintery, and
parallel to the often indistinguishable bedding
planes.
The fine particles that compose shale can
remain suspended in water long after the
larger and denser particles of sand have deposited out. Shales are typically deposited in
very slow moving water and are often found
in lake and lagoonal deposits, in river deltas,
on floodplains, and offshore of beach sands.
http://www.mywiseowl.com/articles/Shale
Began
Time Division ___ Millions
of Years Ago
Typical events
within Indiana
Cenozoic Era
Quaternary
period
2
Glacial tills and outwash,
river sediments and soils,
Mastadons, Giant Beavers
and other ice age animals
Tertiary period
66
Scattered Gravels and sand
Cretaceous
Period
144
No Sediments or fossils
Jurassic Period
208
No Sediments or fossils
Triassic Period
245
No Sediments or fossils
Permian
Period
286
No deposits within Indiana
Pennsylvanian
Period
320
Great swamp forests; coal
stone, sand stone, and clay;
laid in repeated cycles
360
Seas covered Indiana, limestone, sandstone, shale and
gypsum deposited; blastoids
and crinoids common
408
Seas covered Indiana; limestone, dolomite and shale
deposited; some Silurian
reefs continued to grow
Mesozoic Era
Paleozoic Era
Mississippian
Period
Devonian
Period
Silurian
Period
438
Orovician
Period
505
Cambrian
Period
570
Precambrian
Era
4600
Shallow seas over Indiana;
dolomite, limestone, and
shale deposited; Barrier,
patch and pinnacle reefs
began to form
Shallow seas; shale and
limestone deposited; bryozoans and brachiopods common
Shallow seas; sandstone and
dolomite deposited; no exposure at surface only know
from drilling
Igneous, metamorphic
formed in very ancient
times; known only from
drilling.
68
Background
Rock Cycle Song
(Sing to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”)
SEDIMENTARY rock
Has been formed in layers
Often found near water sources
With fossils from decayers
Then there’s IGNEOUS rock
Here since Earth was born
Molten Lava, cooled and hardened
That is how it’s formed
These two types of rocks
Can also be transformed
With pressure, heat and chemicals
METAMORPHIC they’ll become.
Quick Rock Key
If the rock is an Igneous Rock:
 It may be colored.
 It may have shiny flecks of mineral crystals in it that reflect light.
 The different colored minerals in the rock will be stuck together in no particular pattern.
If the rock is a Metamorphic Rock:
 It may be many colored.
 It may have shiny flecks of mineral crystals that reflect light.
 The different colored minerals in the rock will form a pattern of stripes, spots or swirls.
If the rock is a Sedimentary Rock:
 It will look as if it has layers.
 It may have fossils in it.
69
Background
Hard as a Rock
Chart
Place your minerals
here, then move them
down the chart!
SMELL
FEEL
COLOR
STREAK
LUSTER
MAGNET
HARDNESS
WEIGHT
FIZZ
OTHER
Moh’s Scale of Hardness
1
2
3
2.5 or less
Fingernail
scratches
mineral
4
3.5 or less
Penny
scratches
mineral
5
6
5.5 or less
Nail
scratches
mineral
7
8
9
10
6.5 or less
Glass
scratches
mineral
70
Background
Rock ID Sheet
Letter ____ Dolomite
√ May be many colors, but in Indiana is often brown or gray.
√ Feels slightly rough.
√ Composed mostly of tiny crystals of mineral dolomite which are visible with a magnifier.
√ A few bubbles, will form when acid is applied.
√ Hardness range of 3-5.5.
Letter ____ Sandstone
√ May be many colors, including brown, reddish brown, light pink, gray, or white.
√ Feels rough.
√ Composed of sand grains, which are mostly crystals of the mineral quartz, which are visible with the naked eye.
√ Hardness range of 3 or greater.
Letter ____ Limestone
√ May be many colors, but typically is an off-white or shade of light brown or gray.
√ Depending on size of grains, may feel rough or smooth.
√ Generally contains fossil fragments, sometimes rounded and not easily identified, made of the mineral
calcite.
√ Bubbles vigorously in acid.
√ Hardness range of 3-5.5.
Letter ____ Chert
√ May be many colors, but in Indiana is most often a shade of brown, gray, or black, or has bands of those
colors.
√ Feels very smooth.
√ Composed mostly of microscopic crystals of the mineral quartz.
√ Forms sharp edges when broken.
√ Hardness range of 5.5 or more.
Letter ____ Shale
√ Mostly shades of gray, but sometimes black or a shade of red or green.
√ Feels very smooth and soapy.
√ Composed mostly of tiny crystals of quartz and clay minerals, visible only with a microscope.
√ Hardness range of 2.5 or less.
Letter ____ Gypsum
√ Mostly white in color.
√ Feels slightly rough.
√ Composed mostly of the mineral gypsum (crystals look like ice through magnifier).
√ Hardness range of 2.5 or less.
71
Standards
Grade 3
English/Language Arts
3.7.3 Answer questions completely and appropriately.
3.7.4 Identify the musical elements of literary language, such as rhymes, repeated sounds, and
instances of onomatopoeia (naming something
by using a sound associated with it, such as
hiss or buzz).
3.7.15 Follow three- and four-step oral directions.
Mathematics
3.5.1 Measure line segments to the nearest halfinch.
3.6.5 Recognize the relative advantages of exact
and approximate solutions to problems and
give answers to a specified degree of accuracy.
Science
3.1.2 Participate in different types of guided scientific investigations, such as observing objects
and events and collecting specimens for analysis.
3.1.3 Keep and report records of investigations and
observations* using tools, such as journals,
charts, graphs, and computers.
3.1.4 Discuss the results of investigations and consider the explanations of others.
3.1.5 Demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively
while respecting the ideas of others and communicating one’s own conclusions about findings.
Grade 4
English/Language Arts
4.7.1 Ask thoughtful questions and respond orally to
relevant questions with appropriate elaboration.
4.7.2 Summarize major ideas and supporting evidence presented in spoken presentations.
Mathematics
4.5.1 Measure length to the nearest quarter-inch,
eighth-inch, and millimeter.
4.5.2 Subtract units of length that may require renaming of feet to inches or meters to centimeters.
4.6.1 Represent data on a number line and in tables, including frequency tables.
4.6.2 Interpret data graphs to answer questions
about a situation.
4.7.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships,
telling relevant from irrelevant information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.
4.7.2 Decide when and how to break a problem into
simpler parts.
4.7.4 Use a variety of methods, such as words,
numbers, symbols, charts, graphs, tables, diagrams, tools, and models to solve problems,
justify arguments, and make conjectures.
4.7.5 Express solutions clearly and logically by using the appropriate mathematical terms and
notation. Support solutions with evidence in
both verbal and symbolic work.
Science
4.2.4 Use numerical data to describe and compare
objects and events.
4.2.5 Write descriptions of investigations, using
observations and other evidence as support
for explanations.
4.2.7 Identify better reasons for believing something
than “Everybody knows that…” or “I just know”
and discount such reasons when given by
others.
4.3.5 Describe how waves, wind, water, and ice,
such as glaciers, shape and reshape the
Earth’s land surface by eroding of rock and
soil in some areas and depositing them in
other areas.
4.3.6 Recognize and describe that rock is
composed of different combinations of
minerals.
4.3.7 Explain that smaller rocks come from the
breakage and weathering of bedrock and
larger rocks and that soil is made partly from
weathered rock, partly from plant remains, and
also contains many living organisms.
Social Studies
4.1.1 Native American Indians and the Arrival of
Europeans to 1770. Identify and compare the
major early cultures that existed in the region
that became Indiana prior to contact with Europeans.
4.1.2 Native American Indians and the Arrival of
Europeans to 1770. Identify and describe historic Native American Indian groups that lived
in Indiana at the time of early European exploration, including ways these groups adapted to
and interacted with the physical environment.
4.3.5 Physical Systems: Explain how glaciers
shaped Indiana’s landscape and environment
4.4.1 Give examples of the kinds of goods and services* produced in Indiana in different historical periods.
Grade 5
English/Language Arts
5.4.5 Use note-taking skills when completing research for writing.
5.7.1 Ask questions that seek information not already discussed.
72
Standards
5.7.2 Interpret a speaker’s verbal and nonverbal
messages, purposes, and perspectives.
5.7.3 Make inferences or draw conclusions based
on an oral report.
Mathematics
5.6.1 Explain which types of displays are appropriate for various sets of data.
5.7.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships,
telling relevant from irrelevant information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.
5.7.2 Decide when and how to break a problem into
simpler parts.
5.7.4 Express solutions clearly and logically by using the appropriate mathematical terms and
notation. Support solutions with evidence in
both verbal and symbolic work.
Science
5.3.8 Investigate , observe, and describe that
heating and cooling cause changes in the
properties of materials, such as water turning
into steam by boiling and water turning into ice
by freezing. Notice that many kinds of
changes occur faster at higher temperatures.
5.4.8 Observe and describe how fossils can be
compared to one another and to living
organisms according to their similarities and
differences.
quadrants of the coordinate plane.
6.5.1 Select and apply appropriate standard units
and tools to measure length, area, volume,
weight, time, temperature, and the size of angles.
6.7.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships,
telling relevant from irrelevant information,
identifying missing information, sequencing
and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.
6.7.3 Decide when and how to break a problem into
simpler parts.
6.7.5 Express solutions clearly and logically by using the appropriate mathematical terms and
notation. Support solutions with evidence in
both verbal and symbolic work.
Science
6.2.5 Organize information in simple tables and
graphs and identify relationships they reveal.
Use tables and graphs as examples of
evidence for explanations when writing essays
or writing about lab work, fieldwork, etc.
6.3.18 Investigate and describe that when a new
material, such as concrete, is made by
combining two or more minerals, it has
properties that are different from the original
materials.
Social Studies
5.1.1 Give examples of early cultures and settlements that existed in North America prior to
contact with Europeans.
5.5.1 Describe basic needs that individuals have in
order to survive — such as the need for food,
water, shelter, and safety — and give examples of how people in early America adapted*
to meet basic needs.
Grade 6
English/Language Arts
6.4.5 Research Process and Technology: Use notetaking skills when completing research for writing.
6.7.3 Restate and carry out multiple-step oral instructions and directions.
6.7.1 Relate the speaker’s verbal communication
(such as word choice, pitch, feeling, and tone)
to the nonverbal message (such as posture
and gesture).
Math
6.1.6 Use models to represent ratios.
6.2.7 Understand proportions and use them to solve
problems.
6.3.7 Identify and graph ordered pairs in the four
73
74