Rock Cyce

On Monday we continued with rocks and began reviewing for the quiz on Tuesday. This quiz contains information on metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks. The basic information on the the rocks will be on the quiz but we will not have to identify any specific rocks. Instead on Friday we will have a lab practical where we will have to identify the most common rock types from each formation of rock. To study I used the quizlet on rock vocab. The terms that I often missed were pluton and stock. I would often mix these two up a lot but after a while I figured out how to remember them. One thing I need to improve on when studying for this test is understanding the difference between intrusive and extrusive rocks types and how to tell them apart.

On Tuesday we had our science quiz. For the most part it was challenging but I was able to use my common knowledge of rocks to work through the questions and come up with the best answer. One thing I will need to review for the test is labeling igneous rock formation below the Earth's surface. Some of the rock formations that I mixed up were stock and laccolith. Now I know that the difference between a stock and a lacolith is that a stock is a smaller version of a batholith and a lacolith pushes through the rock layer almost forming a new layer. After the quiz we worked on our sedimentary rock lab that we had started last week.

On Wednesday we got our quizzes back and I was happy to see that I did very well. We went over the commonly missed questions and had a basic overview of the entire quiz. After reviewing the quiz we worked on our sedimentary rocks. This rock lab was the most difficult for me because I did not have a clear understanding of the questions. Most of the questions were very complicated and revolved around the different processes of sedimentary rocks. After the lab we individually reviewed for the lab practical on Friday. The two rocks I usually mixed up were slate and shale. This is because they have similar colors and shale is the parent rock for slate.

On Thursday we continued with learning about rocks. We reviewed the processes of the rock cycle. In the rock cycle any type of rock can go through any of the rock formations. For example igneous rocks can change into sedimentary rocks through weathering and erosion. Weathering can break down rocks through natural proceseses such as acid rain and wind. Acid rain is an example of chemical weathering because the acid content in the rain can break down the minerals of rocks. After reviewing notes we worked on the textbook questions about the rock cycle. Most of the questions were review but some of the questions were about topics we discussed that day. We also had practicing on identifying the rocks for the lab practical on Friday.

On Friday we took our lab practical on rocks. One person went at a time and while we were waiting we studied for our upcoming test and worked on reviewing rocks. The lab practical was like  the practice one we reviewed in class but the rock samples were a lot different.  The color of the granite samples were very different I could not tell which rock it was at first. Most of the other rocks were similar in color but not in texture. After taking the practical I worked on my study guide for the test next Thursday.