The document discusses rocks and soil. It defines rocks as being made up of two or more minerals, and describes three main types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. Igneous rocks form from cooling magma, metamorphic rocks change form due to temperature and pressure, and sedimentary rocks form from layers of compacted debris. Soil is described as being made up of small rocks, decomposed plant and animal matter, and waste. The properties of soil include color, water and nutrient retention, and texture.

1. Rocks
and Soil

2. Rocks
• ROCKS
• The rocks you see around you - the mountains,
canyons & riverbeds, are all made of minerals.
A rock is made up of 2 or more minerals.
Think of a chocolate chip cookie as a rock.
The cookie is made of flour, butter, sugar &
chocolate.
The cookie is like a rock and the flour, butter, sugar
& chocolate are like minerals.
You need minerals to make rocks, but you don't
need rocks to make minerals.
All rocks are made of minerals.

3. Rocks
• Properties of Rocks (how we categorize
them)
• Texture
• Layering
• Color

4. Texture
• How smooth or rough they are
• http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/

5. Layering
• http://www.classzone.

6. 3 types of rocks
• Igneous Rocks
• Metamorphic Rocks
• Sedimentary Rocks

7. Igneous Rocks
• Igneous rocks form directly
from the cooling of magma.
• http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/create/igneous.

8. Metamorphic Rocks
• The metamorphic rock gets the name from
"meta" (change) and "morph" (form).
• The rock is moved into an environment in
which the minerals which make up the
rock become unstable. In most cases, this
involves burial which leads to a rise in
temperature and pressure.
• http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/create/me
tamorph.htm

9. Sedimentary Rocks
• In most places on the surface, the
igneous rocks which make up the
majority of the crust are covered by a
thin layer of loose sediment, and the
rock which is made as layers of this
debris get compacted and cemented
together .
• http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/oct98/cre
ate/sediment.htm

10. Rock Cycle
• http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_sci
ence/terc/content/investigations/es0602/e
s0602page02.cfm

11. Smaller rocks come
from the breakdown of
larger rocks through
the action of plants
and weathering

12. Soil

13. Composition
• Soil is made of:
–Small rocks
–Decomposed pieces of plants and
animals
•Dead plants
•Dead animals
–Products of plants and animals
•Animal waste

14. Properties of Soil
• Color
–Is it dark or light?
• Capacity to retain water
–Does it hold a lot of water?
• Capacity to grow plants
–Does the soil have nutrients like
nitrogen to help plants grow well?
• Texture
–How does it feel?

15. Kind of soil How it feels Hold shape
when wet
Sandy Feels gritty Won’t stick
together when
wet
Silty Feels powdery Will stick
together when
wet but will not
hold together
after it dries
Clay Feels sticky Stays together
when wet

16. Which is clay? Which is
sand?

17. • Soil is also
found in layers
like rocks, with
topsoil on top.
• Each layer is
called a
horizon
• http://www.classzone.co
m/books/earth_science/t
erc/content/investigation
s/es1206/es1206page02
.cfm?
chapter_no=investigatio
n