Sand & Rock Sample Observations
This material was originally created for
On the Cutting Edge: Professional Development for Geoscience Faculty and is replicated here as part of the SERC Pedagogic Service.
Katherine Lee, College of the Redwoods
Course: Introductory Geology
25 students
Course: Introductory Geology
25 students
The most effective way to develop geoscience skills in your students is to make opportunities for them to practice those skills.
The Activity
I set up binocular hand specimen scopes to view a coarse granitic sand. The students list the number of different minerals they think they see and give a brief physical description of each. I also give them two very different rocks and ask them to describe them. The focus is on learning observational skills.
