49

Lesson 49 of 84 ยท Earth Systems

Simulationโญ 30 XP๐ŸŒ‹ Rock Realm

Minerals and Their Properties (Part 2)

๐ŸงชLab Brief #49

Earth Systems.

๐ŸŽฏ Your mission

Run the sim. Spot the pattern.

โšก The twist

Today's mountain was yesterday's ocean floor.

๐Ÿคฏ

Mind = Blown

๐ŸŒ‹ There are 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth right now.

๐Ÿ”ฎ

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where will the water go first?

What You'll Learn

Minerals are naturally occurring, inorganic solids with a crystalline structure and definite chemical composition. Minerals are identified by hardness, luster, color, streak, and cleavage.

Key Words

  • metamorphic
  • sedimentary

Steps

Step 1 โ€” Read

Review the background information on Earth Systems before starting.

Step 2 โ€” Do

Model plate tectonics using graham crackers on frosting. Push them together, pull them apart, and slide them past each other to show convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries.

Step 3 โ€” Observe

Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.

Step 4 โ€” Record

Share your findings with the class or a partner and discuss what you learned.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What makes soil fertile?

๐ŸŒ

Where you see this in real life

Today's weather, tomorrow's beach, next century's coastline โ€” all this.

๐Ÿ†

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Look at the sky for 5 minutes and try to predict tomorrow's weather.

๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘ง

For the dinner table

โ€œWhat's the slowest change you can think of?โ€

๐ŸŽฏ

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

๐ŸŒShare card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

๐Ÿ–จ๏ธ

Checkout complete lesson on Earth Systems for 8th Grade

Get the full Earth Systems track as a printable PDF โ€” all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

View in Shop

Your Cart (0)

Your cart is empty

Browse our shop to find activities your kids will love

Minerals and Their Properties (Part 2) โ€” Earth Systems | 8th Grade Science | LittleActivity | LittleActivity