Lesson Plan: Cohesive Properties of Minerals Geology
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to describe the following cohesive properties of minerals: hardness, cleavage, fracture, malleability, and ductility.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- define what mineral hardness is and describe the Mohs scale of hardness and its applications,
- define what mineral cleavage is and mention the different types,
- define what mineral fracture is and give examples,
- compare between mineral fracture and mineral cleavage,
- define mineral malleability and ductility and give examples,
- recognize and define other physical properties including specific gravity, magnetic properties, thermal properties, taste, touch and smell.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the chemical composition of common rock-forming minerals, such as quartz and calcite.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- parting,
- tenacity,
- reaction with acids,
- solubility of minerals.