Department of Geology Utah State University Logan, UT 84322
Level: Grades 1 - 4 Estimated Time Required: 30 minutes
Anticipated Learning Outcomes - Students will develop listening
and observational skills. - Students will learn that minerals
have specific characteristics that can be used to identify them.
- Students will learn the uses of a few common minerals.
Minerals are the ingredients that make up rocks. It is easy to
understand then, that some of the characteristics of the
different types of rocks are a result of their mineral
composition. Many minerals are valued by people because of the
specific qualities or characteristics Minerals are usually
formed by inorganic processes, are crystalline solids (have an
internal orderly arrangement of atoms), have specific chemical
compositions (chemical formula), and have specific physical and
chemical characteristics. Minerals are commonly identified by
the physical properties they possess. These physical properties
include hardness, color, crystal shape, specifi