Posted by David Wetzel
Sand Stone
Sandstone is classified as a sedimentary rock, which can take thousands of years to form.
Sandstone contains grains between 1/16 millimeter and 2 mm in size (siltstone is made of even finer grains). Therefore sandstone doesn’t signify any particular mineral, but in practice, sandstone is usually almost all quartz.
However, most sandstone has a small amount of other minerals—clays, hematite, ilmenite, feldspar, and mica. These minerals add color and character to the quartz matrix.
Sandstone forms when sand is lays on the surface and is eventually buried by more sand or other materials. Usually this happens offshore near river deltas; however, desert dunes and beaches create sandstone beds too.
This type of rock does not usually contain good fossils, because the energetic environments where sand beds form do not have the necessary stability needed.
The most common materials in sand — US inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal settings — is silica (silicon dioxide, or SiO2), usually in the form of quartz. This rock material’s chemical inertness and considerable hardness is resistant to weathering.
Making Your Own Sandstone
Student Materials (per group)
Teacher Materials
- Pieces of sandstone rocks for student comparison
- Ground up pieces of sandstone rock for student comparison
- Digital cameras
Procedures
- Take pictures using the digital camera of every step of the sandstone making process
- Pour some sand and ground up sandstone rock on a paper towel and exam with a magnifying glass
- Record your observations of the sand
- Fill a paper cup half full of sand
- Add the cementing solution until it covers the sand completely
- Pour the sand and cementing solution back and forth between the second until thoroughly mixed
- Place the cup with the mixed solution in a warm place and let it sit there overnight
- Next day, remove the wet sandstone from the cup gently and place on paper towels for 2 days
- Make observations of your sandstone with sandstone rock provided by the teacher.
- Prepare a multimedia presentation of your investigation
Student Questions
- Ask students to compare the differences and similarities between sandstone they made with the sandstone rocks you provide.
- Refer to 20 questions to ask students in science projects for suggestions for other kinds of questions to ask students.
Resources
- How Rocks are Formedby the Franklin Institute
- Sandstone by the College of Natural Sciences and Math
Posted by David Wetzel
Smog Components
Almost all large cities in the world deal with smog - pollution. Some cities have so much smog that they need to declare smog alerts. This is when smog is so dense that it poses health problems for people who live in the city.
What is Smog?
Smog is photochemical reaction between sunlight and industrial emissions; and the burning carbon-based materials.
- Smog also comes from the exhaust of cars.
- Some cities have hundreds of thousands of cars that pollute the air.
- Smog is a mixture of photochemical pollutants, smoke, and carbon dioxide.
- Smog forms a thick, dirty, and smelly atmosphere.
Smog is a mixture of highly reactive chemicals that leave airborne particles which air dangerous to people and the environment. These highly reactive chemicals mix with tiny water droplets in the air to form pollution.
Smog also occurs due to the interaction of ozone is formed when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight.
Sometimes smog comes from the burning of natural carbon-based materials, such as vegetation in forests - trees and brush.
Smog Investigation
The following experiment allows students to visualize the burning carbon-based materials.
Materials (per group)
Procedures
- Fold the strip of paper in half and twist it together (not too tight of a twist)
- Place the water into the jar, swirl it around to get the inside wet and pour the excess water out.
- Light the piece of paper and drop it and the match into the jar.
- Place the aluminum foil over the opening of the jar and seal it with the rubber band quickly.
- Place the 3 ice cubes on top the aluminum foil.
- Record your observations.
Making Connections
Smoke from the burning paper (carbon-based material) interacts with water droplets in the bottle to form smog. The water droplets are caused by water vapor (water in bottom and side of jar turns to vapor when heated by the burning paper) making contact with the aluminum foil cooled by the ice cubes (similar to water vapor in the air reaching earth’s cold upper atmosphere and condensing into water droplets).
Resources
Smog and Ozone
Smog Facts
What is Smog?
Posted by David Wetzel
Composting
Composting can be accomplished in the home by using a large heavy duty plastic trash can with the bottom cut open and with holes in the sides. Types and designs of composting bins vary based on the level of composting.
The compost bin is typically placed in the back yard for convenience and because the compost bin tends to smell as the organic material placed in the bin decomposes. Creating compost is important because it becomes natural high-quality soil used for growing plants and trees; providing them with nutrients and helping to retain moisture.
Building a Composting Column in the Classroom for Investigation
This investigation is designed to allow students to build their own decomposition column for discovering how the compost process works. The compost column investigation is designed to take at least 2 months; however, it can be used as a year long science project.
Materials:
-
3 two liter bottles per group
-
2 cups of dirt
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ML measuring cup
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Duct tape
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Fruit and vegetable scraps from home
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Newspaper (to cover table when constructing the compost column and for placing small pieces of newspaper in the compost)
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Plastic bag pieces
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Scissors
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Rubber band
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Nylon stocking or other fine mesh cloth
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Xacto knife
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Celsius thermometer
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Plastic spoon
Procedures:
- Using the the xacto knife cut the three bottles as shown in “A” ( see the image to the right).
- Cut several 2 cm by 1 cm holes in bottle 1 for air ventilation of the compost column.
- Place a piece of nylon or fine mesh cloth over the cap opening of the bottle 2. Use the rubber band to hold it in place.
- Make sure the bottles fit together as shown in “B” before moving on to the following steps.
- Place alternating layers of dirt and food scraps in bottle 2. Also, place some pieces of newspaper and plastic within the layers of dirt and food scraps.
- Tape bottle 1 and 2 together as shown “B” using thin strips of duct tape. Place the two taped bottles on top of bottle 3.
- Pour enough water through the opening at the top of the compost column to ensure the dirt is moist (be careful to make the dirt moist and do not over water)
- Record what food scraps, amount of newspaper and plastic, amount of water used, temperature of compost dirt when complete, and observations of the compost when complete.
- Once a week record date, temperature of compost dirt (Celsius), amount of water in bottom (ML) and pour the water into the top of the compost column after measuring, any odor, evidence of organisms, all observations of the compost column, take digital pictures for the project report when significant changes occur, use the plastic spoon to mix the compost after collecting all data for the week
Making Connections:
When the project is complete prepare a multimedia presentation of the project to show the class and write a report about the compost column investigation.
Information required as minimum for the multimedia presentation include:
- Materials used
- Types and amount of food scraps used
- What happened to the newspaper and plastic in the compost column
- What if any organisms were found
- Pictures of compost column throughout the investigation
- Amounts of any water and/or dirt added throughout the investigation
- Any other information you group wants to share about their investigation
Resources:
Student - Composting at Home
Teacher - Science Projects Using Multimedia Resources
