Finally, you might say, that girl is starting a new unit. It’s true, and even I got tired of all those reflections about minerals, although I did learn a lot! This unit is all about…forces and motion! You’re probably as confused as I am, but if you’re a professor or something write comments that might help me and the awesome people who read my blog posts but don’t understand what’s going on. Here is the first thing we do when starting a new unit: KWL, Know, Want to know, and Learn. Of course, I can only do the first two because I didn’t learn anything yet.
Know:
I’m going to do this in bullets because I don’t know a lot.
i)A type of force is gravity
ii)There are three laws of motion
And that’s pretty much it.
Want to know:
i)What is the exact definition of force and motion?
ii)How are force and motion used to help humans?
iii)Can you overcome the force of gravity?
iv)Who invented/discovered motion?
v)Who invented/discovered force?
There are many more things I can add, but I don’t know anything about force and motion yet so I might have more questions if I learn I little bit more about it. Of course, at the end of the unit I will add the learn!
Hello everyone, and here I am back to feed you and excite you with new (or old) facts about anything (that has to do with science)! These last few months we have been working on Earth’s Inner Secrets. Plate tectonics, volcanoes, minerals and mining are all part of inner Earth. You have seen a lot of blog posts on all of these things, but this is the final one and I hope I remind you of some of the things you might want to search more about in your free time! Here we go…
Have you ever thought that humans have discovered everything and that of course there are many more things they could find out but what they know about now has no more secrets? Well you are mistaken. They might know all about what pencils are made up of, and what is inside an eye, but what how about what is inside the Earth. Have you ever met anyone who said that they can explain everything that’s going on inside of our Earth without hesitation? Definitely not. And if you have, call them up and ask them what exactly is found in Earth, and how deep have scientists actually gone compared to how deep (they think) Earth is. You’ll find that they have dug very little, and no one (yet) can describe what is found in the Earth because we’ve never gone so deep!
The things that we have found, of course are many. For example you should all know about the Earth’s layers, how many there are, and what each one has inside. There are five layers; crust (the strip or thin skin of the Earth that is the piece we walk on), the upper and lower mantle (composed of liquid magma that moves with convection), the outer core (still liquidy but getting harder), and finally inner core which is solid iron!
Another thing that we know a lot about are some minerals, as you must already know, are created deep under the Earth’s surface when steaming hot magma cools creating some minerals such as diamonds! These minerals are igneous. How do people, scientists, get the diamonds when they are formed very deep inside our world? Volcanoes!!! Some people say that volcanoes are the opening to the secret world under our feet because they give a passage way that can go very deep, straight into the mantle. Of course, the only thing missing is the ability to send machines or humans down there without burning them! There are three main types of volcanoes; shield, which is low and open, cone, which is higher and thinner, and composite which has many layers of magma which have piled on year after year, eruption after eruption!
Going back to the minerals, we learned a lot on how minerals are identified as minerals, not only which ones are found below earth’s surface. The thing that helps people remember how you identify a mineral is SNIFC. It’s not nonsense, as most of the people from my class thought when they first saw it. Each letter stands for something. So, a mineral has to be; Solid, Naturally occurring, inorganic process, fixed chemical composition, and have a crystalline structure! Now it makes sense, right? Moh’s hardness scale also helps a lot when you are trying to identify a mineral.
MINING! A lovely word, but what does it mean? Mining is when you dig for minerals either underground or relatively close to the surface. Those were the two types of mining. There are laws to mining or else the world would be in a big mess. They are all stated in the reclamation act, and the main one is that after you mine you have to clean up your mess!
The last important thing we learned in this unit was rocks. Rocks are one of the most common things found on this planet! There are three types of rock: Igneous (made when magma/lava cools and hardens), sedimentary (made up of sediments that joined and compressed), and metamorphic (rocks that were once sedimentary or igneous and transformed into something else). Rocks are made up of minerals sometimes, which is really cool!
Thank you for joining me again on my awesome science blog posts. I really appreciate the time you took to read through this, because I know it’s kind of long! Good bye!
Today, in science class, we had to create a proposal or idea to who owns the ocean's minerals. We got in groups of three or four and answered a few questions that you will see below, and then created a proposal. Each one of us had a role: Anja was timer, Francesca was group leader, Alek was reporter, and I was typer! Below you will se our discussion and what we came up with in the end.
Group Discussion:
Why are minerals important?
Answer: Some minerals can contain proteins, used in daily life; for example, buildings, spice up food, kitchen items, glass, jewelry, clothes, tablets, etc.
What minerals are found in the world’s oceans?
Answer; Oil, salt, potassium, Magnesium, sand and gravel, limestone and gypsum, phosphorites, placer gold, tin, titanium, water.
Who should have the right to receive them or the profits?
Answer: The landlocked countries should get a share, poor countries/developing also should get some from wealthy. Wealthy coastal nations should get most profits, but also share with poor/ landlocked/developing. Everyone should have the right to own a little bit of the profits because the ocean doesn’t belong to anyone.
What are the problems with mining in the ocean?
Answer: It’s very expensive to get to the bottom and extract the mineral deposits. Landlocked countries can’t get to the ocean and only the wealthy coastal countries have enough money to get to the bottom. Mining can ruin the environment sometimes. The reclamation act should be valid for ocean mining too. Spilling (toxic, oil) from boats is also a problem.
Who owns the oceans minerals?
Answer: It’s everybody’s property and it goes to anyone who gets there and takes it out first. On the coast of a country then that country has the right to get it but should share with landlocked countries.
What are the rights?
Answer: Law sea treaty states that ocean mineral deposits are property of all people and must share with all nations. Some people think that because of the treaty the wealthy coastal Nations should share their technology and profits.
Do you agree with that?
Answer: We agree with that as long as the wealthy coastal nations should share all profits/technology/money with landlocked/developing nations. We think that 200 miles (EEZ’s) are good as long as they share. Trading but the developing countries get more.
Proposal: We propose that wealthy coastal nations should share/trade profits with landlocked/developing countries because the profits are everyone’s and some people don’t have the money to get the minerals. WE agree that all minerals are everyone’s property and that anyone who gets some of the profits should share or trade at least a little bit.
Reflection: I think our group was a well organized grouped and we worked very well together, and very fast. The only thing which was a bit slower was when Alek had to practice to present and he was nervous and everything, but it turned out really good when he actually presented it! I enjoyed working in my group, and we were very affective. Everything, the words, the ideas, the work, was all good, but when Alek presented it turned out a bit longer that it should be. Maybe to work that out we could of written a little summary that he could read because he only had all the ideas and had to make them smaller in his head! Good job, our group!!!!
Hello again, to continue and make sure we know what minerals are, how they are found, etc., Mrs.M decided to assigned us an interesting blog post; find the most mined minerals in a country and answer a few questions about them! If you are interested in the country I chose, Ireland, then this is the right blog for you!
The Mineral;
Zinc's Largest Mine
Zinc
Information:
Zinc
How is it mined?
Zinc Mineral
Zinc ore is mined using underground and surface mining. Ireland now ranks 7th largest producer of Zinc concentrates in the world.
After the ore is mined, they do something called flash smelting where they heat up the ore until it makes zinc oxide.
What are the mining companies?
Ireland currently has three underground zinc-lead mines
The following are both surface and underground mines;
Ballinalack
Bula
Galmoy
Lisheen
Tara
Where do the materials go-are they exported to other countries to factories?
Zinc as well as lead is the main export of Ireland.
The majority of Tara's (the mine) production, however, is sold to third parties in Europe.
The mine supplies part of its zinc to Kokkola, Finland and Odda.
What is it used for?
Zinc Penny
Zinc’s typical lifespancan exceed 100 years, which is exceptional for a roofing material.
Zinc is used world-wide:
In paints
For coating steel
In automotive parts
Electrical fuses
Batteries
Roof gutters
Pennies
Rubber
Deodorant
Pennies are made of zinc covered with copper.
Zinc is used to cover metal that will rust.
Zinc is needed by animals and humans to stay healthy
More than 90% of zinc used in the building industry is recycled.
Is it valuable?
No, Zinc is not very valuable.
Does your country depend on these minerals being mined?
Exports form a big source of Ireland's economy. Zinc is one of the main exports so Ireland kind of does depend on it being sold from them around the world.
Conclusion –
Have you ever wondered, what is the main mineral of my home country? Probably not, but I was assigned by my awesome teacher a blog post on minerals in my home country – Ireland – and I chose….zinc! Zinc is mined in a few places such as; Ballinalack, Bula, Galmoy, Lisheen, and Tara. Zinc is mined using both underground and surface [open-pit] mining. Zinc is not a very valuable mineral, but if you sell a lot of it you will get a lot of money. To show this, Ireland has made zinc one of its main exports and the country depends a bit on it to get enough money. Ireland is the top producer of zinc in the European Union, and the seventh largest producer of it in the world! Also, one third of the mine Tara’s production I sold globally. Finally, zinc can be used in paints, ‘copper’ pennies, rubber, and since it can last for more than 100 years it is perfect for house roofing.
Hello world, how are you today? Recently, my science teacher told us something interesting about minerals found in the ocean...people/governments are arguing with who should own the lands where these expensive rare minerals are found. Mrs.M sent us a few sites, and we were free to look around at any other source of information as long as we had enough to get to our conclusion. I went to work right away, and found many interesting facts and bits of information I would have never of thought to look up at my own time. While I was taking notes, I found the info so good, new, and amazing that I decided I wanted to share it all with you, my wonderful audience this year. First there are a few notes I took when I visited some sites, and underneath I have my conclusion! You might want to read the notes before you go straight to the conclusion because it might make a little bit more sense for you...If you have any feedback or just want to ask me the URLs to some of the awesome sites where I found all this information, please just leave a comment below! Thank you and enjoy!
Who Owns The World's Oceans Minerals?
- Rich Mineral Deposits lie on and just beneath the ocean floor
- Nation have the right to mine near their shores
- Minerals on ocean floor are open for all nations
THE ISSUES
- Mining ocean floor is very expensive
- Only wealthy nations can afford costs, they think they should keep the minerals mined
- Developing nations that lack money + technology disagree
- 157 nations signed Law of Sea treaty
- The treaty says that the minerals in the ocean belong to everyone
- Treaty also says mining profits must be shared among all nations
- Some people think wealthy nations should share technology + any profits they get from mining the ocean floor
SHARING
- To prevent conflict over ocean floor they might arrange a compromise
- Maybe wealthy nations could give part of profit to help developing nations
WHO OWNS THE OCEAN'S?
- The five ocean's are technically one as they are not divided.
- Everyone on Earth's surface owns the ocean, yet none of us do
- It was agreed for centuries that no one owned the world's oceans
- It says in 'The Freedom of Seas' that coastal countries own up to 12 miles of water from their shore, so it's there part of the ocean
- All the rest of the ocean is everybody's, including landlocked nations, for trade and commerce
WHO CARES WHO OWNS THE OCEANS?
- Humans have lived on land for more than 195,000 years
- Same oil and gas that is removed from oceans is now polluting oceans
- Countries who fish can send the fishing boats anywhere in the ocean
- End of 1960's almost 400 million tons of oil were removed per year
- Humans poisoned lives below water's surface with pollution
- In 1967, United Nations established formal + legal international treaty; first new agreement about oceans in 300 years
THE U.N. AND THE SEA GRAB OF TODAY
- United Nations spoke up first to the treaty on world's oceans
- There were some exceptions such as straits that could help everybody were still international waters
- It was banned to test nuclear weapons in international waters
- EEZ's = Exclusive Economic Zones
- These are extensions of a state's rights to resources offshore
- Extensions can go up to 200 miles from shore
- Arctic is melting making minerals easier and cheaper to get
- US, Canada, Greenland, Denmark, Norway and Russia are all trying to get to the Arctic floor
WHO OWNS MINERAL RIGHTS?
- Rights to minerals on public lands belong to the sovereign who owns the surface
- EEZ's are used only if the place around it is open as much as 200 miles without land
- In most nations, minerals underneath private property goes to the national government, regardless of who owns the surface
- Property owner can sell mineral rights to another party
OCEAN MINERAL RIGHTS
- Some territory with minerals remains unclaimed or in dispute
- It is possible for Congress to ban offshore oil drilling even under state owned seabed
- Most nations claim EEZ's which go up to 200 miles from coastline
- Within their area, nations have the right to exploit minerals buried deep in the seabed
- The amount of territory outside of any nation is shrinking
- Mineral deposits in free areas is available to whoever is willing to extract them
- Governments are free to lease mineral rights to others
IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
Did you know there are minerals spread all around the ocean floor? Now think about who owns them. There are many nations who claim that they should get all of the minerals. The real problem is trying to get to them. The minerals near the shore are not very hard to get there for not very expensive, but deep on the ocean floor it is much harder to reach them and therefore much more expensive. Also, new technologies are needed to get deep down into the sea. Wealthy nations who can provide a fair amount of money and can pay for new technologies seem to think that they should keep all of the minerals that they get. Developing nations do not agree, and the Law of Sea says that the minerals are everybody's property. They think that wealthy nations should share or give part of what they get to developing nations and landlocked nations. What do you think?
ANALYZE THE OPTIONS
Wealthy nations probably have the problem of which inventor might they risk giving some of their money to make a machine that can go deep in the ocean, get the minerals and come back without having everyone injured. They might also, if they are a particularly kind nation, have the problem of who to give some of their found minerals or money to and how much to give to them. However, developing nations have much bigger problems such as how will they find the money to get to the minerals, how much should they spend depending on if it will be a success or not. Landlocked nations have the biggest problem seeing they are not even next to an ocean so unless they are given permission by coastal nations that they can find the minerals working from their own money, they are really in trouble and have only to beg wealthy nations to give them a bit of their profits. To reassure developing countries that they would not be left out, I would tell them that they can give away a little bit of their money to start with and the more minerals they gain the more money they will have to expand their work.
ARCTIC
You know how the Arctic is melting slowly because of the global warming, right? Well, since it is easier to get the minerals now that it is mostly liquid, it is cheaper and many countries are trying to get it! Some of these countries include the US, Canada, Greenland, Denmark, Norway and Russia. Since it is cheaper to get to the mineral deposits there, even developing countries can get to it and mine there without loosing to much money, but wealthier countries will probably get there faster because of the new technology they can afford. If you look at the map of arctic, you can see around it are two big countries; The US/America and Russia are the main countries around it, but Greenland is pretty big too. I think that everyone should get the deposits because technically no one owns it.
ATLANTIC
The Atlantic ocean is like a very large river that has Africa and Europe on one side, and the other side there's the America's. If all of those continents got EEZ's and went up to 200 miles, they still wouldn't own a lot and most of the ocean would be international water. I think it should stay like that because by mining you ruin the environment, so the ocean would mostly be saved.
PACIFIC
To me, the Pacific ocean is the largest ocean, so almost all of it is international waters. I am not so sure how much minerals are in that ocean, but since it is so big there might be a lot of mineral deposits in it. Maybe they could mine a little bit more in it, but then restore the natural environment to how it was before.
FIND A SOLUTION
When I was younger, my friends and I wanted to buy some candy at a small store. I had the most money, there for I could buy more than the others, but there was only a few left. What should we do? Should I buy the candy and share with my friends, or should I keep it for myself? Should i wait until tomorrow when my friends could come back all with the same amount of money? This situation is similar to the one about minerals in the oceans and who should get it! Wealthy countries had the money for the expensive process of extracting the minerals from the ocean, but they are faced with the problem of whether they should be nice and share their profits of minerals/money with the developing countries/landlocked countries. The developing and landlocked countries who won't convince the wealthy country to give them a bit of profits are in trouble. They barely have enough money to take care of the country the way it is, so they would be able to give very little, not enough to get as much profits as you would have to if you wanted to start some sort of business.
As for the land, wealthy and developing countries with an ocean on a side of it have rights to 12 miles into the sea from there shore for free (I think). Then if they want to expand the space, they have to pay money to the law or something and can get up to 200 miles of ocean with the EEZ's from there shore, as long as there are no countries they would bump in to. Here would also be a problem for developing nations because they need more money to expand their space, even if they have a whole lot of ocean in front of them like the United States.
Finally, I think what I'm trying to say is that developing countries need help, and wealthy countries should provide them with at least a bit of their profits if not a bit of loaner money until they can really give them back the money. For the space/land/sea that they can get, I think that even if a country is wealthy, they should be limited to so much land because first of all it is not fair for the developing countries that still need to catch up, and second of all when mining all those minerals with the machines they might destroy some of the ocean, so more parts of the ocean should be international water so they we be safe and illegal to mine in!
Thank you for joining me with this session of.......'Clare's Amazing, Interesting Science Posts'! I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot because I sure did!
Hello, here are some more things that we had to research about rocks and minerals. Hope you enjoy them as much as you enjoyed the other ones!
How are rocks made?
Rocks are made of minerals or a mixture of minerals.
What are the three types of rocks and how are they formed?
Sedimentary rock - For millions of years, eroded pieces of earth are brought downstream and each time it adds they compress together, finally forming rock. Sandstone, Limestone, Shale, Conglomerate, Gypsum.
Metamorphic rock - Used to be sedimentary or igneous, but under tons of heat and pressure, changed to metamorphic rock. Schist, Gneiss
Igneous rock - Formed either under or above ground when magma/lava cools and hardens into rock. Granite, Scoria, Pumice, Obsidian
What is the rock cycle?
The Rock Cycle
A group of changes that happen in a pattern again and again with rock.
How can you identify a mineral?
It has to be solid, have a crystal structure, naturally occurring, inorganic process, fixed chemical composition.
How are minerals created?
Minerals are formed by natural processes. An example is when magma cools.
Can rocks be minerals?
I don't think so because they don't always have a crystalline structure or a fixed chemical composition, but if you look at the other side of the argument, rocks could be minerals because they are made from tiny fragments of mineral.
What is the most precious mineral?
I think diamond is one of the most precious minerals because even though there are a lot of them, people that mine diamonds have to pay a lot of money to get them, so they don't sell so many and the amount they sell is very expensive.
Give three examples of minerals and rocks and interesting information about each.
Quartz - Quartz is one of the most well-known minerals on earth. Quartz is also the most varied of all minerals, occurring in all different forms, habits, and colors. Some forms of Quartz, especially the gemstone forms, have their color enhanced.
Diamond - Diamond is the toughest, the strongest mineral in the world. In 2004, astronomer Travis Metcalfe of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and colleagues discovered a diamond star that is 10 billion trillion trillion carats! You won't be able to sell a diamond ring for more than what you pay for it.
Gold - Pure gold is very soft. Gold has been recycled ever since it was first discovered. Gold is perfect for use in coins and jewelry as it does not react with air or water like many other metals.
Granite - Granite is found in abundance, all over the planet, but it is only restricted to Earth's crust. Being strong and durable, granite rock has been used for construction since several centuries. Granite, like most of the other natural stones, is radioactive indeed.
Limestone - Limestone can recrystallize into marble. The city of Kingston in Ontario, Canada is called the "Limestone City" because so many buildings were built with limestone. Limestone is partially soluble, so it can erode to create many different landscapes.
Sandstone - Sandstone is a sedimentary rock that can take on almost any color. Because of its hardness, sandstone is often used to make grindstone wheels. Sandstone formations begin with sand from the sea or desert, and solidify by pressure over time.
Thank you for looking at my blog post again if you have any questions or comments please put them down below and I will answer them as soon as possible.
Hello, and welcome back to my blog that will open your eyes up with new opportunities and new knowledge. Today, we were learning about minerals and we watched a power point! Here are some things that you might find interesting.....
What is a mineral?
The exact definition is; A mineral is a naturally occurring solid that can form by inorganic processes and that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition. You can't really say it in any other way because those are the five things that a mineral must have if you want to classify it as a mineral!
What are the five things a mineral needs to have to be a mineral?:
Solid - Minerals are always solid with definite volume and shape
Naturally Occurring - Natural processes, can form when magma cools, from the remain of ancient plants, etc.
Inorganic Processes - Every mineral must be able to from from material that were not part of a living thing.
Fixed Chemical Composition - A mineral always contains certain elements in definite proportions.
Crystal Structure - Particles of a mineral line up in a pattern that repeats over and over again. Crystals have flat sides that meet at sharp edges and corners.
Here is a table of what we thought minerals were....and then the correct ones..compare!
