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Minerals and rocks of the earth's crust

Source: licencja: CC 0, [online], dostępny w internecie: pixabay.com.

Link to the lesson

Before you start you should know
  • what the size of the Earth is;

  • what the Earth's spheres are;

  • what the lithosphere is.

You will learn
  • about the division of rocks based on their genesis and their cohesion;

  • to provide examples of rocks found in your area;

  • about the use of rocks in various industries.

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Nagranie abstraktu

The smallest natural, indivisible components of the Earth's crust have been called minerals. They were created as a result of natural geological processes. Each of them has characteristic physical and chemical properties. Most minerals also have a specific crystal structure. There are over 3 thousand known minerals. The most numerous in the lithosphere are: plagioclases, orthoclases, pyroxenes and amphiboles, quartz, magnetite, mica and calcite.

Natural clusters of one or many minerals, created as a result of specific geological processes (magmatism, metamorphism, sedimentation and others) form rocksrockrocks, which are the basic components of the Earth's crust. Natural accumulations of crumbs of other rocks or debris of organic origin are also called rocks. Some of them were used in energy production or in other industries, such as construction, thanks to which they were named mineral resourcesmineral resourcesmineral resources.

In addition to rock raw materials, mineral resources also include energy, metal and chemical raw materials.

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Occurrence and extraction of mineral resources in Poland
Source: Wydawnictwo Edukacyjne Wiking, licencja: CC BY 3.0.

Rocks are formed as a result of various processes, as presented in the table below (division by reason of genesis).

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Igneous rocks (created by the crystallization of magma or lava): igneous underground magma rocks, e.g. granite, syenite, effusive magma rocks, e.g. basalt, andesite. Sedimentary rocks (caused by deposition of remains of organisms, or other crushed or dissolved rocks on land or on the bottom of water): clastic sedimentary rocks, e.g. sand, conglomerate, sedimentary rocks of organic origin, e.g. limestone, black coal, sedimentary rocks of chemical origin, e.g. rock salt, gypsum. Metamorphic rocks (created by transforming previously existing rocks in the depths of Earth under the influence of high pressure and temperature): regional metamorphic rocks – occur in large areas (even thousands of square kilometers), formed from the largest number of types of initial rocks, e.g. gneiss, slate, contact metamorphic rocks – formed at the junction of magma breaking into the rocks formed earlier, e.g. marble, quartzite.
Granite
Basalt
Conglomerate
Bituminous coal
Rock salt
Gneiss
Marble

Rocks that form the Earth's crust can also be categorized by their cohesion, i.e. the degree of connection between its mineral components. We distinguish three groups:

  • hard rocks – their grains are strongly bonded (e.g. granite, sandstone, marble);

  • soft rocks – formed from rock crumbs and minerals with an average diameter smaller than one tenth of a millimeter. They are poorly connected with each other. Because of that, they can be crushed in the hand or – if they are moist – knead like plasticine.

  • loose rocks – their grains are not connected with each other (e.g. sand, gravel).

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Exercise 1
Wybierz jedno nowe słowo poznane podczas dzisiejszej lekcji i ułóż z nim zdanie.
Task 1
Wybierz jedno zagadnienie opisane w abstrakcie. Poszerz swoją wiedzę na jego temat, szukając dodatkowych informacji w dostępnych ci źródłach (np. w internecie, encyklopedii lub specjalistycznych publikacjach). 
Wybierz jedno zagadnienie opisane w abstrakcie. Poszerz swoją wiedzę na jego temat, szukając dodatkowych informacji w dostępnych ci źródłach (np. w internecie, encyklopedii lub specjalistycznych publikacjach). 
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Wysłuchaj nagrania abstraktu, ułóż do niego pytania i zadaj je koledze.
Task 2
Wymień najbardziej znane budowle z marmuru. 
Wymień najbardziej znane budowle z marmuru. 
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Give examples of the use of marble, granite and clay.
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Exercise 2
Assign mineral raw materials to appropriate categories. Energy raw material Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. limestones, 2. phosphates, 3. sand, 4. hard coal, 5. crude oil, 6. rock salt, 7. gold, 8. natural gas, 9. dolomites, 10. copper ore, 11. sulfur, 12. tin ore Metallic raw materials Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. limestones, 2. phosphates, 3. sand, 4. hard coal, 5. crude oil, 6. rock salt, 7. gold, 8. natural gas, 9. dolomites, 10. copper ore, 11. sulfur, 12. tin ore Chemical raw materials Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. limestones, 2. phosphates, 3. sand, 4. hard coal, 5. crude oil, 6. rock salt, 7. gold, 8. natural gas, 9. dolomites, 10. copper ore, 11. sulfur, 12. tin ore Rock raw materials Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. limestones, 2. phosphates, 3. sand, 4. hard coal, 5. crude oil, 6. rock salt, 7. gold, 8. natural gas, 9. dolomites, 10. copper ore, 11. sulfur, 12. tin ore
Task 3

Explain why and how some minerals have been used in the economy. Name some of them.

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A mineral raw material that is used in the economy? (Uzupełnij). How was it used? (Uzupełnij).
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Keywords

rocks, minerals, hard rocks, soft rocks, loose rocks

Glossary

rock
rock
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Nagranie słówka: rock

skała – naturalne skupisko jednego lub wielu minerałów

mineral resources
mineral resources
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Nagranie słówka: mineral resources

surowce mineralne – skały lub minerały naturalnie występujące w środowisku, wydobywane przez człowieka dla celów gospodarczych