Abc ebook text final copy

The ABC Book of Rocks and Minerals 1

A: Amethyst Amethyst is a purple quartz mineral often used in jewelry.

Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February.

Amethyst measures a 7 on Mohs scale of hardness.

Amethyst is commonly found in the granite pegmatites of Maine.

Click the link to watch the simplicity of digging for amethyst: digging georgia amethyst crystals at jacksons crossroads mine 4 - YouTube

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B: Basalt Basalt is a dark-colored, fine-grained igneous rock.

Crushed basalt is used for road base, asphalt pavement, and railroad ballast.

Basalt underlies more of the earth’s surface than any other rock type.

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C: Coal Coal is organic matter that has been compress over time to make a solid.

Coal is a combustible, sedimentary, organic rock, which is composed mainly of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Coal is a main fossil fuel used to generate electricity.

Coals are assigned to a rank progression that corresponds to the level of organic metamorphism.

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D: Diamond Diamonds are the hardest natural substances that are chemically resistant.

Diamonds are a simple composition made of one element: carbon.

Diamonds are not native to Earth surface because they are found at higher temperature and pressure areas in the Earth’s mantle.

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E: Emerald Emeralds are found in all rock groups and have a green color.

Emeralds are part of the beryl minerals.

Emeralds are rare and only found in a small number of locations.

Emerald is the birthstone for the month of May.

Click here to learn more from GemKids: Emerald

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F: Fossil Fossils are evidence of a once living thing preserved in stone.

Fossils provide clues for scientists by providing information on how animals and plants lived in the past.

Two species of the extinct ammonite fossils create the gem Ammolite.

How are fossils formed Kids learning Animation Video Tutorial YouTube

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G: Geology Geology involves studying the materials that make up the earth, the features, and structures found on Earth.

Geology is divided into two categories: physical geology (volcanoes, rocks, & oceans) and historical geology.

Geology: comes from the Greek word “ge” meaning rocks and “logos” meaning knowledge.

Geology for Kids - Games, Facts, Experiments, Activities, Projects, Science Online

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H: Hardness Hardness is a measure of the ease with which a smooth surface of a mineral can be scratched, or of its resistance to abrasion.

Hardness is a reliable diagnostic property for most minerals.

In 1812 German mineralogist, Frederick Mohs developed the Mohs’s Scale of hardness to classify minerals.

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I: Igneous Rock Igneous Rocks are rocks that started as hot, molten liquid called magma.

There are 2 types of igneous rocks: Intrusive: crystallize below Earth's surface and the slow cooling that occurs there allows large crystals to form and extrusive: erupt onto the surface where they cool quickly to form small crystals.

Igneous rocks can be created with or without minerals.

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J: Jade Jade is a type of metamorphic rock.

China has been the leading producer of jade objects for over 5,000 years.

Jade is a very hard material, and was used to make tools because it is extremely tough, and breaks to form sharp edges.

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K: Kunzite Kunzites are a Pink to lilac specimens of gem-quality spodumene that are highly prized.

Kunzite is a young gemstone that was first comprehensively described in 1902 by gemstone specialist George Frederick Kunz (1856 – 1932).

Kunzite scores a 6.5 on Mohs’s scale of hardness.

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L: Lava Lava is underground magma that has been moved to Earth’s surface.

Lava is the molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling.

New igneous rocks form from cooled lava flowing out of volcanoes at earth’s surface.

Watch a video of a volcano erupting: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/sierra-negra-volcanolex

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M: Metamorphic Rock Metaphoric rocks are created by intense heat and pressure deep within the Earth.

Uplift and erosion help bring metamorphic rocks to the Earth's surface.

Examples of metamorphic rocks include anthracite, quartzite, marble, slate, granulite, gneiss, and schist.

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N: Nephrite Nephrite is a variety of the calcium and magnesium-rich amphibole mineral actinolite.

Nephrite is one of two different mineral species called jade.

Nephrite is typically a green color and found in New Zealand.

Read facts about Nephrite and the story of Pounamu: http://www.stonestudio.co.nz/greenstone.asp

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O: Obsidian Obsidian is an igneous rock that forms when molten rock material cools rapidly.

Black is the most common color of obsidian.

Obsidian was used to make knives, arrowheads, spear points, scrapers, and many other weapons and tools.

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P: Pumice Pumice is a volcanic rock that is so full of gas bubbles that it floats in water.

In the United States, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Oregon are the major producers of pumice, accounting for the majority of the nation’s pumice production.

Pumice and obsidian are often found together.

Pumice is very rough to touch, so sometimes it is used to scrub the bottoms of people's feet to help scrub away old skin and make their feet soft again like a baby's feet.

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Q: Quartz Quartz is a very common mineral in the Earth’s crust.

Quartz is physically and chemically resistant to weathering.

Quartz is rather hard, 7 on Moh’s hardness scale, and has a glassy luster.

Quartz is used to make glass, abrasives, and gemstones.

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R: Rock Cycle The rock cycle is an illustration used to explain how the three rock types are related to each other, and how Earth processes change a rock from one type to another through geologic time.

The rocks cycle begins as igneous rocks, erode into sedimentary rocks then change into metamorphic rocks, finally the rocks melt back to magma and start the process again.

Plate tectonic movement is responsible for the recycling of rock materials and is the driving force of the rock cycle.

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S: Sedimentary Rocks Sedimentary rocks are formed at or near the earth’s surface.

Wind, water, ice, and heat are environmental factors that contribute to the creation of sedimentary rocks.

Sandstone and conglomerates are examples of sedimentary rocks.

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T:Talc Talc is the softest mineral on the Mohs' hardness scale at 1.

Talc has perfect cleavage in one direction, which allows the mineral to break into thin sheets.

Ground talc is used as an ingredient in ceramics, paper, paint, roofing, plastics, cosmetics, talcum and baby powders, and a variety of other assorted uses such as making rubber and plastics.

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U: Unakite

First discovered in the United States in the Unakas Mountains of North Carolina from which it gets its name, unakite.

Unakite can be found as pebbles and cobbles from glacial drift in the beach rock on the shores of Lake Superior.

Unakite is a type of granite composed of salmon-pink feldspar.

Review the Unakite Top # 9 Facts - YouTube here.

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V: Volcano Volcanoes are openings in the Earth’s surface. When they are active, they can let ash, gas, and hot magma escape in sometimes violent and spectacular eruptions.

Hot liquid rock under the Earth’s surface is known as magma, it is called lava after it comes out of a volcano.

Volcanoes can be found on the ocean floor and even under icecaps, such as those found in Iceland.

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W: Wairakite Most wairakite occurs either in active hydrothermal systems (the action of heated water in the earth's crust) or in low-grade metamorphic rocks.

Steiner (1955) discovered and described wairakite from drill core taken at the Wairakei geothermal field, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand.

Wairakite occurs in metamorphosed Miocene volcanic rocks in several areas of the Fossa Magna of central Japan.

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X: Xalostocite Xalostocite is a type of pink grossular garnet found in a matrix of white marble.

Some grossular garnets, like Xalostocite, are found in the form of dodecahedron.

Xalostocite is an alternative name for the pink grossular; also known as landerite and rosolite.

Xalostocite is named for its place of origin in Xalostoc, Mexico.

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Y: Yeatmanite Yeatmanite is a new mineral from Franklin, NJ found by Charles Palache, Lawson Henry Bauer, and Harry Berman in 1937.

Yeatmanite is named in honor of Pope Yeatman.

Yeatmanite can be found in Clove-brown, or rose-pink colors.

Yeatmanite measures a 4 on Mohs’s scale of hardness.

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Z: Zirconium Zirconium is named after the silicate mineral in which it was first discovered, zircon.

Zirconium is resistant to corrosion and used to make surgical appliances.

Analysis of the rocks collected on the moon has shown that zirconium is a common element on the surface of the moon and is present in the sun, meteorites and S-type stars.

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Resources: Geology for kids. (n.d.). Rock cycle. Retrieved from: http://kidsgeo.com/geology-for-kids/0025B-rock-cycle.php Hudson Institute of Mineralogy. (n.d.). Yeatmanite. Retrieved from: http://www.mindat.org/min-4357.html IZA Commission on Natural Zeolites . (n.d.). Wairakite. Retrieved from: http://www.iza-online.org/natural/Datasheets/Wairakite/wairakite.htm Live Science. (2013.).Facts about Zirconium. Retrieved from: http://www.livescience.com/34610-zirconium.html Mineral Education Coalition. (n.d.). Pumice. Retrieved from: https://www.mineralseducationcoalition.org/minerals/pumice Nephrite. (n.d). Wikipedia online. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nephrite Science Kids. (2015). Earth Facts: Metamorphic Rock Facts. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/metamorphicrocks.html Tomecek, Steve.(2011). National Geographic KIDS: Everything Rock and Minerals.

All images courtesy of Google Images

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