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<h1>🔬 Rock Hardness & Soil Investigation</h1>
<h2>Week 27 — Wednesday | Hands-On Earth Material Experiments</h2>
<h3>📖 Reading Time</h3>
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<p>Today you will act like a geologist by testing rock properties and investigating soil composition. One important property of rocks and minerals is <strong>hardness</strong> — how resistant they are to being scratched. Geologists use the <strong>Mohs Hardness Scale</strong>, which ranks minerals from 1 (softest, like talc) to 10 (hardest, like diamond). You can test hardness by trying to scratch a rock with everyday objects: a fingernail (hardness ~2.5), a copper penny (~3.5), a steel nail (~5.5), or a piece of glass (~5.5). If an object leaves a scratch, the rock is softer than that object.</p>
<p>Soil is made of different layers called <strong>horizons</strong>. The top layer is <strong>topsoil</strong>, which is dark and rich in organic matter where most plant roots grow. Below that is <strong>subsoil</strong>, which contains more clay and less organic matter. Deep below the subsoil is <strong>bedrock</strong>, solid rock that has not yet broken down. You can investigate soil by sieving it through different mesh sizes to separate particles, or by mixing soil with water in a jar and watching the layers settle. Heavier sand sinks fastest, silt settles in the middle, and clay floats longest. Organic matter may float on top.</p>
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<h3>✏️ Reading Questions</h3>
<p><strong>1. What is hardness and how do geologists measure it?</strong></p>
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<p><strong>2. What are the three main soil layers called?</strong></p>
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<p><strong>3. In a soil settlement jar, which particles sink to the bottom first?</strong></p>
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<p><strong>4. Explain how you would test if a rock is harder or softer than a copper penny. What would the results tell you?</strong></p>
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<h3>📝 Vocabulary Grid</h3>
<p>Write a definition or draw a picture for each word.</p>
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<div class="vocab-card"><strong>💪 Hardness</strong><div class="line-row"></div></div>
<div class="vocab-card"><strong>📏 Mohs Scale</strong><div class="line-row"></div></div>
<div class="vocab-card"><strong>🌍 Topsoil</strong><div class="line-row"></div></div>
<div class="vocab-card"><strong>⛏️ Subsoil</strong><div class="line-row"></div></div>
<div class="vocab-card"><strong>🪨 Bedrock</strong><div class="line-row"></div></div>
<div class="vocab-card"><strong>🕳️ Sieve</strong><div class="line-row"></div></div>
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<h3>🔍 Rock Hardness Scratch Test</h3>
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<p><strong>Materials:</strong> 3 different small rocks, a fingernail, a copper penny, a steel nail, a piece of glass, a magnifying glass.<br>
<strong>Method:</strong> Try to scratch each rock with each tool. Look closely with the magnifying glass to see if a scratch line remains. Record your results.</p>
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<p><strong>Before you start: Which rock do you think will be the hardest? Why?</strong></p>
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<h3>📋 Hardness Test Results</h3>
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<tr><th style="width: 100px;">Rock</th><th>Fingernail Scratch?</th><th>Penny Scratch?</th><th>Nail Scratch?</th><th>Glass Scratch?</th><th>Hardest/Softest?</th></tr>
<tr><td>Rock A</td><td style="height: 22px;"></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Rock B</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Rock C</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
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<h3>🌱 Soil Sieve Investigation</h3>
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<p><strong>Materials:</strong> Soil sample, 3 sieves/screens with different hole sizes (large, medium, small), shallow trays, magnifying glass.<br>
<strong>Method:</strong> Pour soil through the largest sieve first, then the next, then the smallest. Collect what falls through each sieve. Observe and draw the different particle sizes.</p>
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<h3>📋 Soil Particle Results</h3>
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<tr><th style="width: 120px;">Sieve Size</th><th>What Passed Through?</th><th>Particle Size</th><th>Sketch</th></tr>
<tr><td>Large holes</td><td style="height: 30px;"></td><td></td><td style="width: 150px;"></td></tr>
<tr><td>Medium holes</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
<tr><td>Small holes</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr>
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<h3>📊 Experiment Analysis</h3>
<p><strong>1. Which of your rocks was the hardest? What evidence did you find?</strong></p>
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<p><strong>2. Which rock was the softest? Could you scratch it with your fingernail?</strong></p>
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<p><strong>3. What was the most common particle size in your soil sample?</strong></p>
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<p><strong>4. Compare your scratch test results to the Mohs Hardness Scale. If your rock was scratched by a nail but not a penny, where do you think it falls on the scale?</strong></p>
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<h3>✅ True or False — Circle Your Answer</h3>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>1.</strong> Hardness measures how resistant a rock is to being scratched.</p>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>2.</strong> Diamond is the softest mineral on the Mohs scale.</p>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>3.</strong> Topsoil is rich in organic matter and dark in color.</p>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>4.</strong> Subsoil is the topmost layer of soil.</p>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>5.</strong> Bedrock is solid rock below the soil layers.</p>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>6.</strong> In a soil jar, sand settles at the bottom first.</p>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>7.</strong> A sieve is used to separate soil particles by size.</p>
<p><span class="circle-box"></span> <strong>8.</strong> If a rock scratches glass, it is softer than glass.</p>
<h3>✏️ Fill in the Blanks</h3>
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<p><strong>Word Bank:</strong>
<span>hardness</span><span>Mohs scale</span><span>topsoil</span><span>subsoil</span><span>bedrock</span><span>sieve</span><span>sand</span><span>clay</span>
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<p>1. Resistance to scratching is called ________________.</p>
<p>2. The scale used to rank mineral hardness is the ________________.</p>
<p>3. The dark, nutrient-rich top layer of soil is ________________.</p>
<p>4. The soil layer below topsoil with more clay is ________________.</p>
<p>5. Solid rock beneath all soil layers is called ________________.</p>
<p>6. A tool with holes used to separate particles is a ________________.</p>
<p>7. Large, heavy soil particles that settle quickly are ________________.</p>
<p>8. Tiny soil particles that take a long time to settle are ________________.</p>
<h3>💭 Think About It</h3>
<p><strong>If you were building a house foundation, which soil type would you prefer: sandy soil, clay soil, or loamy soil? Explain why your choice would be best for supporting heavy buildings.</strong></p>
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