Earth+Materials

This unit consists of four sequential investigations dealing with observable characteristics of solid materials from the earth—rocks and minerals. The focus is on taking materials apart to find what they are made of and putting materials together to better understand their properties. This unit introduces fundamental concepts in earth science and takes advantage of the students' intrinsic interest in the subject matter and in the physical world around them. Students will learn about...
 * Earth Materials**
 *  what rocks and minerals are
 *  the 12 most important minerals on Earth
 *  the properties of rocks and minerals
 *  identifying and organizing earth materials