Rock and Roll or ROCKS and COAL? bESTology Week 2

Image: mining.com

Rock and Roll or ROCKS and COAL?  bESTology Week 2

Just as Rock and Roll is music to our ears, so is the sound of hearing someone shout, “Look at what I discovered”! Whether it is gold on a riverbed or rare minerals deep inside our earth, our daily lives depend on mined materials. 

 During prehistoric times, surface mining was key but as time and technology progressed, mining dug deeper into the depths of the earth.  Geological studies unveiled the diversity of land and sea.  North America is rich in salt, coal and copper while Africa is recognized for bauxite, aluminum and diamonds.  South America has an abundance of lithium.  Geology takes us into the depths of the earth to reveal how the resources were formed and why they are deposited in various locations on the planet.

 Mother Nature has distributed minerals and elements in a fashion of hide and seek.  As materials are mined and become limited, new substances are discovered each day but each new mined substance must have a value, thus “Pay Dirt”.  As bESTologists, let’s explore!

 Resources:

• Living Rock and Introduction to Geology
• How to find the Gold Motherlode
• Why we need rare earth elements
• Rare element resources
• Map of mined materials in the United States
• Mine search in the United States
• USGS National Map
• Creating a Venn Diagram
• Seven Continents
• Mineral Map
• Free Survey on SurveyMonkey.com
• Tips of how to design an effective survey
• Geology Rocks music video
• 2014 BEST Returnable Kit
• 2014 BEST Consumable Kit

 Data Mining:  After viewing the above resources, examine a map of the United States and identify major rivers, mountain ranges and other significant geographical landforms, i.e. rivers, fault lines, oceans, lakes, volcanoes.  Predict were gold, salt and coal has or could be discovered based on geographical significances.  Discuss how rivers, fault lines, oceans and volcanoes may or may not have played a role in the materials being concentrated rather than scattered across the continent.

Challenge: If given the option of panning for gold along the Mississippi River or Snake River, which would you choose and why?

Writing:  Earth is our home!  But do we actually understand the vastness of the resources available to us?  Sharpen your pencil and let’s analyze where the “Pay Dirt” can be found on our planet.

List the seven continents.  Create a pie chart showing the percentage of the landmass of each continent compared to the total landmass of the earth.  Generate an individual chart for each continent listing the top 5 (five) ores they mine.  Complete this writing task by sketching a Venn diagram to show the similarities and differences between the top 5 (five) ores found on each continent.

 BEST Connection:  Last week we reviewed the 2014 BEST Consumable and Returnable kit lists to identify the materials that are a result of mining.  This week let’s take it a step further and identify the source of the mined product.  Trace the product to the state or country where the material is mined and create a visual for your BEST exhibit booth showing the variety of mined materials on your robot and the geographic locations where they were mined.

Community Connection:  Using resources in your community such as a Chamber of Commerce, identify five industries directly involved with mining.  Visit their websites to determine how they extract the resource from the earth and who their target customers are.   As a bESTologist, trace the geologic formation of the mined substance back to a time and place in history, in other words, how did the material end up in your region of the United States.

 Challenge: America’s oil independence is a hot topic in the news, but how about America’s independence on rare earth elements.  Currently, China mines 95% of the world’s rare elements that are used in today’s technological advancements.  Design a questionnaire.  Begin by writing a precise and objective introductory paragraph of China’s current role.  Continue by asking three to five survey questions.  Graph your results and share with others.  Complete this activity by debating with others the future of America’s rare element independence.

Bloom’s Taxonomy: analyze, ask, choose, complete, compare, contrast, debate, design, discuss, examine, generate, graph, identify, list, predict, research, show, survey, trace, use, visit, write

Workforce Skills: reading comprehension, critical thinking, active learning, writing, mathematics, science

Copyright 2015 Friends of BEST in Alabama, Inc.