UNIT THREE: Uses of Land – Residential and Industrial |
Learning Plan: 3 of 6 |
Class: Standard 2 Term: 1 | Theme: My Country: The Environment of Trinidad and Tobago – Land |
Duration: 3 hours | Topic: Resources of our Land |
Context: The earth provides us with many resources, some of which are finite. Students are surrounded with minerals in varying forms; as such they need to know that these final products are acquired in raw states and there is a process which takes place to convert these mineral to useful materials. | CONSIDERATIONS: R HFLE: Understanding Consequences Effective Communication Literacy RReading RWriting R Oral Communication ☐ Literary Appreciation R Media & Information Literacy Numeracy ☐ Problem Solving ☐ Critical thinking ☐ Communication ☐ Representation ☐ Reasoning R ICT Skills R Differentiated Instruction R Assessment for Learning |
Outcomes: At the end of this learning experience students will: · explain the uses of some common minerals · discuss the importance of using minerals for sustainability of the economy · identify sources of minerals on a map · describe ways to conserve minerals and the environments they are extracted from · give reasons why persons should respect laws governing natural resources · organize descriptive paragraphs using a topic sentence and supporting details · apply vocabulary in context · create models to depict resources of Trinidad and Tobago. |
Activities: Uses of common minerals 1. Students use Worksheet One to identify what they know about the items shown in the pictures and the materials used to make them. These items include pictures of asphalt paving, concrete blocks, iron pots, gold rings, and a silver spoon. 2. In groups, students discuss the materials used to obtain the final product and infer where these materials came from. Each group will present a statement on where the materials came from to make each final product. Identifying minerals 3. Teacher guides discussion to identify minerals and source of obtaining minerals (see Sheet Information) Videos and pictures can be used to share information on minerals. E.g. videos showing mining of coal, limestone, etc. 4. Students use a KWL Chart to track their knowledge as they find out more information about minerals. Teacher can ask questions such as: Where does cement come from? Where does asphalt for paving come from? 5. In groups students make a list of all products/uses of each mineral. Students number items so as to see which group can list the most. Teacher highlights that minerals in their natural states may not be useful to us but when mined and refined are useful in many ways. (See info sheet especially in distinguishing between coal and charcoal) Where are minerals found? 6. Using an atlas, students locate where some minerals can be found in Trinidad and Tobago. They also can identify minerals that can be found in neighbouring CARICOM countries. E.g. Gold in Guyana. In an outline map of Trinidad and Tobago students identify the Pitch Lake and one other mineral deposit site – e.g. Limestone quarrying in the Northern Range Preserving the Environment 1. In groups students discuss the need for the preservation of the environment in extracting minerals. Students can be engaged in further discussion that will highlight the importance of respecting laws that govern land use: prevent exploitation of natural resources, etc. 2. Each group presents one way in which the environment may be restored or saved from further destruction. Expository Writing 3. Students engage in expository writing. Paragraph 1: What is a mineral Paragraph 2: Types and what they are used to make Paragraph 3: Are these renewable or non-renewable resources? Ways to preserve the environment. Vocabulary/Crossword Piece: 4. Students engage in a solving a crossword with words associated with minerals. Creating Models 5. Students create models that represent or depict the resources of Trinidad and Tobago. These can include using foil for making rings, jewellery, copper wire and beads, creating a model of a community with road made out of play dough painted black etc. |
Resources: · Stationery: worksheets, puzzles, KWL charts · Art Supplies: play dough, foil paper, colour pencils, copper wire, paper, black poster paint · ICTs: pictures, videos, · Literature: Information Sheet (for teacher) · Others: atlases, copies of outline maps of Trinidad and Tobago |
Assessment: • Map work exercise • Observation • Oral questions • Participation rubric • Student checklists • Rubric for Writing • Rubric for Creative Writing Piece |
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Name: ______________________________ How much do I know?
Item | Material used to make it | Where does the material come from? |
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General Information about Minerals
Minerals are naturally occurring
They are not made by humans
Minerals are inorganic
They have never been alive and are not made up of plants or animals
Minerals are solids
They are not liquids (like water), or gases (like the air around you)
Cars
Cars – building a car
Many minerals are needed to make a car. Iron is used to make steel. It makes up the bulk of the car, and comes from minerals like magnetite and hematite.
Think about the properties of cars:
Strong
Rigid
Hard
Aeroplanes
Two metals, aluminium and titanium, are used a lot in aeroplanes because they are lightweight and strong. Aluminium comes from a material called bauxite. Titanium comes from minerals called rutile and ilmenite.
Titanium is also important in space flight, as it is used a lot in the manufacture of space shuttles.
Think about the properties of aluminium and titanium:
Strong
Lightweight
Rigid
Electronics
Gold is used in electronics. It conducts electricity very well and is very flexible, twisting easily into fine wires. It is used to make electronic circuit boards and other components.
Think about the properties of gold:
- Conducts electricity
- Does not rust
- Is flexible – can be twisted into wires
Cement
As well as being an ingredient in bricks, clay minerals also make up much of the material used to stick them together – Portland cement.
Clay is mixed with limestone and other minerals, including one called gypsum that is added to help the cement harden.
Think about the properties of cement:
- Easy to shape and sticky when wet
- Quick to set (or harden)
- Strong and rigid when set
- Impermeable when set
Nuts, bolts, nails and screws
There are many minerals rich in iron. Iron is probably the most important metal used in building. When it is made into steel, it can act as a framework in large buildings and skyscrapers.
Bolts, nails and screws are often made of steel but are coated with another metal, such as zinc, to stop them rusting.
Think about the properties of nails and screws:
- Strong
- Rigid
- Hard
- Do not rust
Plumbing and Wiring
In the past, the pipes carrying water to your taps would have been made from lead. Lead comes from a mineral called galena, but because we now know lead is poisonous, copper and plastic pipes are used instead.
Copper is also used in electrical wiring, as it is an excellent conductor of electricity.
Think about the properties of copper:
- Impermeable
- Flexible
- Stretchy (if you pull hard)
- A good electrical conductor
Limestone
Most limestone are marine deposits, but some are formed in lakes, rivers and on land. Limestone may form inorganically or by biochemical processes. There are many types of limestone because of the variety of conditions under which it is produced.
Limestone consist mainly of animal shells. The shells of many animals, those that live either in the sea or in freshwater, consist of calcium carbonate (calcite and aragonite). When the animals die, their shells are left on the ocean floor, lake bottom or river bed where they may accumulate into thick deposits.
Gypsum
Rock gypsum is an evaporite rock that forms as shallow sea basins or salt lakes dry up enough for the mineral gypsum to come out of solution. But most gypsum occurs in massive chalky beds of rock gypsum. It’s mined for the manufacture of plaster, and household wallboard is filled with gypsum. Plaster of Paris is roasted gypsum with most of its associated water driven off, so it readily combines with water to return to gypsum.
Gold
Gold nuggets account for very little of the world’s gold production. The gold ore being mined today shows no sign of its valuable fraction, yielding a few grams in every ton of rock. Large mines in Nevada, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and the former Soviet Union supply the world with gold for hundreds of industrial uses, bullion, dentistry, coinage, and jewellery. Gold is prized for its electrical conductivity, resistance to corrosion, and extreme malleability. Your computer has gold contacts in it.
Asphalt (also called bitumen) Mixed with stone, sand and gravel to be used in paving.
The largest use of asphalt/bitumen is for making asphalt concrete for road surfaces . Pavement material is commonly composed of 5% asphalt/bitumen cement and 95% aggregates (stone, sand, and gravel). Due to its highly viscous nature, asphalt/bitumen cement must be heated so it can be mixed with the aggregates at the asphalt mixing plant.
Coal Mining Charcoal in a BBQ
Coal vs Charcoal
The difference between coal and charcoal is the fact that coal is a fossil fuel that is created due to the pressurizing of organic material over millions of years, while charcoal is made by the partial burning of wood. Coal is mined from the ground like other minerals, while charcoal is made in a kiln with limited oxygen supply. Both are non-renewable fuels and cause environmental pollution and degradation.
Information about Cement
What is cement?
Cement is usually grey.
Cement mixed with water, sand and gravel, forms concrete.
Cement mixed with water and sand, forms cement plaster.
An example of how cement can be made
1.) Limestone is taken from a quarry. It is the major ingredient needed for making cement. Smaller quantities of sand and clay are also needed. Limestone, sand and clay contain the four essential elements required to make cement. The four essential elements are calcium, silicon, aluminium and iron.
2.) Boulder-size limestone rocks are transported from the quarry to the cement plant and fed into a crusher which crushes the boulders into marble-size pieces
3.) The limestone pieces then go through a blender where they are added to the other raw materials in the right proportion.
4.) The raw materials are ground to a powder. This is sometimes done with rollers that crush the materials against a rotating platform.
5.) Everything then goes into a huge, extremely hot, rotating furnace to undergo a process called “sintering”. Sintering means: to cause to become a coherent mass by heating without melting. In other words, the raw materials become sort of partially molten. The raw materials reach about 2700° F (1480°C) inside the furnace. This causes chemical and physical changes to the raw materials and they come out of the furnace as large, glassy, red-hot cinders called “clinker”.
6.) The clinker is cooled and ground into a fine grey powder. A small amount of gypsum is also added during the final grinding. It is now the finished product – Portland cement.
The cement is then stored in silos (large holding tanks) where it awaits distribution.
The cement is usually shipped in bulk in purpose-made trucks, or even by barge or ship. Some is bagged for those who want small quantities.
Minerals –The main ingredient?
Across
- The early stages of a road
5. Can be made into jewellery - I was once a tree
- I can be used on walls and around someone’s broken hand
Down
- The main ingredient in cement
- In holes, deep in the ground you can find me
- If you have a spoon made of me you are very lucky
- You can walk on me, stand on me or put me on a wall
What I KNOW | What I WANT to Know | What I LEARNED |
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