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THE 4 ROCK CYCLE ACTIVITIES
Note: Each student must wear goggles at all times. Hand out the complete rock cycle diagram as a reference during these activities.
Activity One: EROSION and WEATHERING
Materials:
- Wax crayons: blue, red, yellow, green (6 of one color for each student)
- Small pencil sharpener (one per student)
- Wax paper (1 1square sheet per student)
- Newspaper (enough to cover table tops)
- Envelopes (1 per student)
- Small Sandstone or limestone samples
- Small Pieces of sandpaper
- Jars of mud and sediment
1. Form cooperative learning groups. There should be one manager of materials.
2. The materials manager will pick up enough newspaper to cover the group’s table and a small pencil sharpener. For each group member the manager should get: an envelope, a sheet of waxed paper, and 6 crayons of the same color.
3. Each group will cover their table with newspaper.
4. Explain that this activity will be a demonstration about weathering. The whole crayons represent rock material. The pencil sharpeners represent mechanical weathering agents. (water, wind, or ice) (weathering is a process by which rocks exposed to the weather undergo changes and break down.) The shaved crayons represent sediments.
5. Instruct the students to shave each crayon with the pencil sharpener onto the wax paper. They should keep all the fragments in a small pile.
6. Students can see how small grains of sand can cause weathering. Have the materials manager get 1 small sandstone or limestone sample and a piece of sandpaper. Students will observe that the sandpaper will remove small bits of the sandstone or limestone.
7. Focus attention on weathering by asking the following questions:
a. Are the crayon fragments all the same size? Why or why not?
b. Are rocks all the same size in nature?
c. What are some of the weathering forces in nature? (wind, water, ice)
d. Is there a place where rock fragments tend to collect? (bottoms of hills, edges of rivers, mouths of rivers. etc. Heavier rocks settle first, followed by the lighter ones.) Why?
8. After weathering the crayons, the student will carefully wrap the “sediments” in the wax paper and place them in an envelope with his/her name on it.
Activity Two: LAYERING
Materials:
Explain that this
activity will explore the layering process. 1. The materials
manager will collect the envelopes of sediments from activity one
and bring them to the front of the class. 2. The manager
will spread the contents of each envelope (one at a time) on the aluminum
foil. The particles will be in a uniform layers covering a 3” X 3”
square. Each group will look at their layers. Discuss the terms deposition
(the laying down of matter). Focus attention on layering by asking
the following questions: a. What kinds
of things allow layering to happen? (rushing water from a storm carrying
rock particles which then fall to the bottom, followed by another
storm at another time and another layer; dead animal and plant material
falling to the bottom of a swamp; or ice from a glacier moving and
breaking up rock then depositing it) b. What might
interfere with layering? (wind blowing layers away, water washing
layers away) c. Students will
fold the foil around the layers to form a sealed envelope leaving
about ˝ “ of space around the edges of the fragments. Activity Three:
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS Materials:
1. Explain that during this activity they will make models of sedimentary
rock. 2. Each student will place his/her foil envelope between the 2
boards and then put the “board-foil-board” sandwich in the vise
and tighten it. Explain that the vise is applying pressure. This
activity represents the intense pressure that happens when many
tons of rock lay upon the layers over a long period of time forming
sedimentary rock. 3. Each student will open the foil envelope and observe the contents.
Discuss their observations. 4. Cut the piece into two halves. Discuss their observations and
focus attention on the sedimentary rock model by connecting the
model with the actual process. Discuss the changes that have occurred.
5. Each student will rewrap the two halves and wrap that package
in another layer of aluminum foil and tightly close the edges. Activity Four: METAMORPHIC ROCKS Materials:
1. Explain that
we will be making a representation of metamorphic rock. 2. Heat the
waffle iron. This represents the intense heat and pressure phase
of the rock cycle. 3. Each student
will place the foil envelope in the waffle maker for 2 or 3 minutes.
They will remove the foil envelope with a hot mitt and let it cool
to room temperature. 4. Open the
envelopes, cut the products in half and examine them. 5. Focus attention
on metamorphic rocks by discussing the result of the waffle iron’s
heat and pressure on the crayons. Compare the product with your
gneiss sample. 6. Discuss how
the crayons were originally formed in the factory. Melted wax was
poured or forced into molds where it cooled and hardened. Make the
connection between this process and igneous rock formation.
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