Iron-nickel meteorite displaying an "octahedrite" structure. The minerals form a Widmanstätten pattern that is characteristic of iron-mineral formation in an asteroid. Photo by Vince Cronin.
Minerals
Assignments For This Topic...
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The reading assignments are in the required textbooks listed on the main course syllabus (https://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Geo1405-Spring2021.html.
-
Read
:
the study questions for this section, listed at
https://croninprojects.org/Vince/Course/PhysGeol/Geo1405-Minerals-Q.html
and keep them in mind as you read the following assignments. Most, if not all, of the answers will be in the reading assignments for this topic.
-
View
a short video by Dave McConnell and friends — Earth's Elements and an Introduction to the Silicate Minerals.
-
Scan
:
Earth
eText, chapter 3 — the whole tamale.
Don't neglect to view all of the AV stuff:
videos, animations, tutorials, concept checkers. Do these things in light of the study questions, so that you pick-up some information and know where to look for more information as you work to find the answers to those questions and understand the associated content.
-
Read
:
Earth
eText, chapter 3, Sections 3.3 and 3.4,
How Atoms Bond to Form Minerals
and
Properties of Minerals
-
Read
:
Earth
eText, chapter 3, Sections 3.6 through 3.9,
Mineral Groups
,
The Silicates
,
Common Silicate Minerals
and
Important Non-Silicate Minerals
, pages 86-96.
- Complete the lab assignment as described below
Important Notes
- A video conference will begin at the starting time each week for the lab section in which you are a registered student. You can ask questions related to the lab assignments during the weekly video conference. Each weekly conference will be accessible via a Microsoft Teams channel associated with your lab section. You can learn how to access your Microsoft 365 subscription as a Baylor student via https://www.baylor.edu/its/index.php?id=871490.
- The completed laboratory activities assigned below must be submitted via the Canvas
learning management system (LMS) before 11:59 PM Central Time on the day after the day on which your laboratory section is scheduled to meet (e.g., due before Wednesday night at 11:59 PM for a lab scheduled on Tuesday). Instructions for submitting your lab work are provided HERE.
- The end-of-lab quiz must be completed via the Canvas LMS before 11:59 PM Central Time two days after the day on which your laboratory section is scheduled to meet (e.g., due before Thursday night at 11:59 PM for a lab scheduled on Tuesday).
Lab Assignment to be largely or entirely completed before your weekly lab meeting
- View the pre-lab video Mineral Properties, Identification, and Uses at
https://goo.gl/kKBN1l
- View the pronunciation guide for geoscience terms used in the relelvant chapter of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual at https://youtu.be/QbwO_4EaJJ8.
- Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 3, Sections What Are Minerals, How Are Minerals Classified, and What Are a Mineral's Chemical and Physical Properties?, and all of their subsections, Pages 63-76.
- Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 3.1 Mineral Luster, Diaphaneity, Streak, and Color, pages 89-90, and submit it to the Minerals assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
- Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 3.2 Mineral Shape, page 91, and submit it to the Minerals assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
- Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 3.3 Determining the Relative Hardness of a Mineral, ONLY part A, page 92, and submit it to the Minerals assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
- Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 3.4 Determining Specific Gravity, ONLY parts B, C, and D, page 94, and submit it to the Minerals assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
Note: The experiment video(s) you will need to complete Activity 3.4 parts C and D are as follows:
- Read: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, chapter 3, Section Identifying Minerals in Hand Specimens, pages 76-77
- Do: AGI/NAGT Lab Manual, Activity 3.5 Mineral analysis, Identification, and Uses, pages 95-98, and submit it to the Minerals assignment in Canvas — submission instructions HERE.
Use the tables and other information in Chapter 3 of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual to identify the following unknown minerals. Identify the first 10 minerals listed below, on the page specified and in the order that they are written. Then choose 5 more minerals from the last of the three lists of unknown specimens provided below.
Identify these specimens, in the order given, on page 95 of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual:
Identify these specimens, in the order given, on page 96 of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual:
Identify any 5 of the following specimens on page 97 of the AGI/NAGT Lab Manual:
-
Complete the assigned work in Mastering Geology
Complete the Dyamic Study Module called
Matter and Minerals
and HW-ch03 by going to
Mastering Geology
through the
Canvas
Learning Management System (LMS). A reminder about how to get to the Mastering Geology assignments is provided
HERE
Summary of Assigned Lab Activities for This Week: Activities 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5
Office Hours Reminder
An open office hour is held every weekday afternoon from 4-5 PM CT via Microsoft Teams. The link to the MS Team associated with Professor Cronin's "lecture" section of this course is
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a194b188accd44e4ba6613322631c5cb1%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=63be257a-2f4f-4d92-894a-b799b68acac7&tenantId=22d2fb35-256a-459b-bcf4-dc23d42dc0a4
You can join the office hour
HERE
or by phone via +1 432-276-3942, conference ID: 402 610 879#
You can also call or text Professor Cronin to his mobile phone at the number posted in Canvas on the course homepage (202030 GEO 1405 01 - The Dynamic Earth). Or you can send him an email at
Vince_Cronin@baylor.edu
.
If you have any questions or comments about this site or its contents, drop an email to the humble
webmaster
.
All of the original content of this website is © 2021 by Vincent S. Cronin