What are the BIG IDEAS we are learning?
1. What makes a rock a rock?
2. You can learn a lot about an object by observing and describing its properties.
3. The earth forms and changes rocks. Some of a rock's properties are a result of how it was formed.
a. Sedimentary rocks are formed when layers of sediment (tiny pieces of rocks, shells, sand, and clay) are pressed together over time.
b. Metamorphic rocks are formed when other rocks are heated and squeezed together inside the earth until they change.
c. Igneous rocks are formed when melted rock (magma) cools and hardens.
4. Rocks are made of minerals.
5. Some of a rock's properties are a result of the properties of the minerals it is made of.
6. Minerals provide many of the resources we use.
7. Fossils are rocks that contain evidence of living things long ago.
8. Different types of fossils form in different ways.
