A Term-Long Mineralogy Lab Practical Exam
Summary
This term-long project involves identifying a set of 65 mineral hand samples by their distinguishing characteristics.
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Context
Audience
This activity is designed for an undergraduate required course in mineralogy and is generally for sophomore or junior level students.
Skills and concepts that students must have mastered
Students should be familiar with common mineral identification techniques such as describing luster, crystal habit, cleavage/fracture, streak, specific gravity, smell, magnetism, etc. as well as XRD as an identification technique.
How the activity is situated in the course
This activity is a stand-alone exercise, but is part of a larger volume of classroom and laboratory activities from "Teaching Mineralogy," a workbook published by the Mineralogical Society of America, Brady, J., Mogk, D. W., and Perkins, D., (editors), 1997,406 pp.
Goals
Content/concepts goals for this activity
Students should be able to provide accurate descriptions of unknown mineral samples in order to identify them by the end of the term.
Higher order thinking skills goals for this activity
This activity involves synthesis of ideas and data and data analysis from multiple sources to correctly identify mineral samples.
Other skills goals for this activity
This activity may allow students to become more familiar with mineral identification techniques, including using analytical equipment such as an XRD as well as strengthening their skills to search through literature and the WWW to help them identify the minerals.
Description of the activity/assignment
This term-long project involves identifying a set of 65 unknown mineral samples through various common mineral identification techniques including their physical properties (e.g. streak, luster, habit, density, cleavage/fracture, etc.) and through the use of XRD.
Determining whether students have met the goals
Students have met the goals of this activity if they have correctly identified the minerals and have given adequate support for how they identified each mineral.
More information about assessment tools and techniques.Teaching materials and tips
Other Materials
- Assignment description, hand outs, and instructor's notes. (Microsoft Word 21kB Apr29 08)
- Assignment description, hand outs, and instructor's notes. (Acrobat (PDF) 1.6MB Apr29 08) Same file as above, but pdf version.
Supporting references/URLs
Brady, J., Mogk, D. W., and Perkins, D., (editors), 1997, Teaching Mineralogy, a workbook published by the Mineralogical Society of America, 406 pp.
Klein, C., and Hurlbut, C.S. Jr., 1993, Manual of Mineralogy (21st edition). John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 681 p.
Klein, C., and Hurlbut, C.S. Jr., 1993, Manual of Mineralogy (21st edition). John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 681 p.