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Teaching Rocks & Minerals

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Most of us, at one time or another, have picked up a rock that caught our attention, perhaps because it shimmered or because of a brilliant or unusual color. It might have been the shape of the rock that caught our attention. Maybe the rock was perfectly smooth and round, or perhaps the rock was in the shape of a heart or had glistening glasslike marbling cutting through its dull surface.

Think of the possibilities that come to mind if you ask students to hypothesize about where the rock came from, where it has been. Was it perhaps broken off of a much larger structure, maybe part of a canyon? Was the rock smooth and polished from the force of water causing it to tumble of hundreds or thousands of years? What clues do the colors give as to the origin of the rock?

Rocks make up the world we live in. The earth is essentially just a big rock with deep oceans, tall mountains, rivers, forests and the ability to support life. Rocks keep a record of the passage of time and the evolution of living things, and so earth and its life can be studied through its rocks.

In beginning to teach students about the history of the earth through rocks, begin by identifying minerals. Minerals are classified into several categories based on common properties and characteristics.

Minerals By Class:

Minerals can be organized, mainly according to their chemistry, into the following classes.

By Class
Elements, Oxides, Carbonates, etc.

• Elements Class: The Metals and their alloys and the Nonmetals.
• Sulfides Class: The Sulfides, the Selenides, the Tellurides, the Arsenides, the Antimonides, the Bismuthinides and the Sulfosalts.
• Halides Class: The Fluorides, the Chlorides and the Iodides.
• Oxides Class: The Oxides and the Hydroxides.
• Carbonates Class: The Carbonates, the Nitrates and the Borates.
• Sulfates Class: The Sulfates, the Sulfites, the Chromates, the Molybdates, the Selenates, the Selenites, the Tellurates, the Tellurites and the Tungstates (or the Wolframates).
• Phosphates Class: The Phosphates, the Arsenates, the Vanadates and the Antimonates.
• Silicates Class: The Silicates (the largest class).
• The Organics Class: The "Minerals" composed of organic chemicals.
• The Mineraloids: The "Minerals" that lack crystal structure.

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