Rikku of the Al Bhed (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
the_merriest) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2011-03-22 01:25 am
the_merriest) wrote in fandomhigh2011-03-22 01:25 am
Entry tags:
Science is Awesome!!!, Class #11, Period 3, March 22nd
Another week of science! Rikku couldn't stop herself from bouncing just at the thought of it. Because it was science, that was why!
... Yes, she knew she was weird. Hush.
"Okay!" she announced brightly. "This week, we're gonna talk about geology. But more than that? We're gonna talk about rocks and minerals. The two are really similar, I mean, rocks are described as aggregates of minerals and mineraloids, whereas minerals are naturally occurring? Basically an aggregate means they're all kinds of things smooshed together to form a whole, and a mineral is something that just kinda is, itself. It's like the difference between elements and chemical compounds, in science -- one of 'em is made up of the other, you know?"
Rikku was big on technical terms like 'smooshed.'
"Rocks and minerals are everywhere, I mean, you can go on vacation and just pick up some rocks from the ground for really cheap souvenirs. Some of them are pretty, too! But you might be wondering, what kind of rock is it? Don't worry! There are ways to tell!"
Those ways involved handouts. Naturally.
"So, with rocks? One of the first things you want to figure out is if it's igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary. Igneous rocks are made from magma, like, a volcano erupts, lava comes out, the lava cools super-fast, and boom, igneous rocks. Sedimentary rocks are made from erosion, and they settle out in layers. And metamorphic rocks used to be another kind of rock, and then changed, based on pressure. Once you know which of the big three you're dealing with, then you look at the grain size, and color, and relative hardness, and things like that, and you narrow it down to see exactly what you're dealing with."
"This second handout -- and make sure you keep them separate!!! -- is for minerals. Minerals you identify based on a lot of different features -- the luster is one, which is how it shines. Cleavage is another, and no giggling, guys, it's talking about how the rock breaks when you hit it. Hardness matters, although minerals get a huge scale from 1 to 10 about how hard they are. It goes on like that."
Rikku gestured to the front of the room, which had two large tables set up. Each table had a number of assorted rocks in various bins, and testing materials such as a small piece of quartz, pencils and paper, glass, and a steel file.
"The one on the left just has rocks," she said, "and the one on the right is minerals. You're gonna go up to the tables -- you can start at either one, it's fine! -- and pick up a rock-or-mineral, and then use the handout key to go through the process of discovering what kind of rock-or-mineral it is. At the very end, the handout will give you a name. Each rock has a sticker on it, with a number. So you need to come up to the list, posted over by the door, and see if the name you came up with matches the number on your rock-or-mineral's sticker."
And yes, she had double-checked that the numbers weren't messed up. Two or three times, in fact.
"So! If you get it wrong, you have to do another one from that table, but if you get it right, you can go to the other table. Once you've correctly identified one of each kind of rock, you can leave. So there's a good incentive to try hard to get it right the first time, you know?"
She planned on sitting by the list, to be sure no one cheated.
"If you have questions, like, on whether the grains count as big, or what color something is or whatever? You can totally bring them over to me for help. So let's all get our geology on!"
... Yes, she knew she was weird. Hush.
"Okay!" she announced brightly. "This week, we're gonna talk about geology. But more than that? We're gonna talk about rocks and minerals. The two are really similar, I mean, rocks are described as aggregates of minerals and mineraloids, whereas minerals are naturally occurring? Basically an aggregate means they're all kinds of things smooshed together to form a whole, and a mineral is something that just kinda is, itself. It's like the difference between elements and chemical compounds, in science -- one of 'em is made up of the other, you know?"
Rikku was big on technical terms like 'smooshed.'
"Rocks and minerals are everywhere, I mean, you can go on vacation and just pick up some rocks from the ground for really cheap souvenirs. Some of them are pretty, too! But you might be wondering, what kind of rock is it? Don't worry! There are ways to tell!"
Those ways involved handouts. Naturally.
"So, with rocks? One of the first things you want to figure out is if it's igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary. Igneous rocks are made from magma, like, a volcano erupts, lava comes out, the lava cools super-fast, and boom, igneous rocks. Sedimentary rocks are made from erosion, and they settle out in layers. And metamorphic rocks used to be another kind of rock, and then changed, based on pressure. Once you know which of the big three you're dealing with, then you look at the grain size, and color, and relative hardness, and things like that, and you narrow it down to see exactly what you're dealing with."
"This second handout -- and make sure you keep them separate!!! -- is for minerals. Minerals you identify based on a lot of different features -- the luster is one, which is how it shines. Cleavage is another, and no giggling, guys, it's talking about how the rock breaks when you hit it. Hardness matters, although minerals get a huge scale from 1 to 10 about how hard they are. It goes on like that."
Rikku gestured to the front of the room, which had two large tables set up. Each table had a number of assorted rocks in various bins, and testing materials such as a small piece of quartz, pencils and paper, glass, and a steel file.
"The one on the left just has rocks," she said, "and the one on the right is minerals. You're gonna go up to the tables -- you can start at either one, it's fine! -- and pick up a rock-or-mineral, and then use the handout key to go through the process of discovering what kind of rock-or-mineral it is. At the very end, the handout will give you a name. Each rock has a sticker on it, with a number. So you need to come up to the list, posted over by the door, and see if the name you came up with matches the number on your rock-or-mineral's sticker."
And yes, she had double-checked that the numbers weren't messed up. Two or three times, in fact.
"So! If you get it wrong, you have to do another one from that table, but if you get it right, you can go to the other table. Once you've correctly identified one of each kind of rock, you can leave. So there's a good incentive to try hard to get it right the first time, you know?"
She planned on sitting by the list, to be sure no one cheated.
"If you have questions, like, on whether the grains count as big, or what color something is or whatever? You can totally bring them over to me for help. So let's all get our geology on!"
Sign In - SCI11
Re: Sign In - SCI11
Re: Sign In - SCI11
Re: Sign In - SCI11
Re: Sign In - SCI11
Re: Sign In - SCI11
Re: Sign In - SCI11
During the Lecture - SCI11
Re: During the Lecture - SCI11
After giggling and snorting, Hank had another point to make, so he raised his hand. "What does it matter?" he asked. "I mean, they're all just rocks, right?"
Rock Table - SCI11
Pick up a rock, study it, and run the tests from the handout key to take your best guess at the identity of the rock. Feel free to take notes or confer with classmates about the size of pores or grains or whatever!
Re: Rock Table - SCI11
Mineral Table - SCI11
Pick up a mineral, study it, and run the tests from the handout key to take your best guess at the identity of the rock. Feel free to take notes or confer with classmates about the details of luster or cleavage or whatever!
Re: Mineral Table - SCI11
Check The List - SCI11
(If you try to sneak up here and just get the name from the list, Rikku will probably catch you and make you start over with a new rock.)
Re: Check The List - SCI11
"Gneiss," he said, holding up the first rock, one with clearly defined bands of light and dark minerals. "Diorite," this one was white with some shiny black flecks. "And conglomerate," the last and final rock looked as if it were composed of many pebbles cemented together.
Then, of course, it was time for the minerals. "Magnetite." That one was, well. Magnetic. "And muscovite," he finished, holding up one that was thin and and flaky and had a sort of pearly-shininess to it.
Yeah. Someone was an overachiever.
Re: Check The List - SCI11
And because he was a huge nerd about science. So was she. As he could probably tell, by now.
Re: Check The List - SCI11
"Shale," he announced proudly, showing her a piece of slate. "Score one for the Hankenator."
Talk to the TA - SCI11
Re: Talk to the TA - SCI11
Talk to Rikku - SCI11
OOC - SCI11
Crashing soon, tags answered when I awaken!
Re: OOC - SCI11