Your first name: Mallory MMMal last initial Mineral Identification

Report

Rose Quartz

Do you think the steps below of the scientific method must be followed in order? Yes, because you cannot just start guessing what your mineral is, you have to experiment and find things about your mineral. 1. State the problem (the objective in the form of a question). 2. Gather information. 3. Form a hypothesis. 4. Experiment! 5. Record and analyze data. 6. Form a conclusion. 7. Communicate results.

Now that you are done researching and identifying your mineral fill-in the information for each step of the scientific method below. Then, number which step was first, second, etc. Objective: Use the steps of the scientific method to identify a mystery mineral. Materials: -Mineral -Streak Plate - Eyes to see color and luster - Using our senses to feel - Other minerals to see what our hardness is - Using a magnet to see if ours is magnetic. - Websites to find information -

Procedure: 1. Mr. Finan gave me a mineral. 5. Then we used websites and resources. 2. We started by observing our mineral. 6. We came up with two guesses 3. Then we started to experiment. 7. We checked over our work. 4. We took the information that we got and wrote it down. 8. We shared our information.

1. State the problem. (Hint: Just write the objective above in the form of a question.) How can I use the steps of the scientific method to identify a mystery mineral? 2. Gather information. (Look it up and/or ask an expert) *see the attached Mineral Identification Data Sheet 3. Form a hypothesis. Write a statement that tells what mineral you think yours is (your two guesses). I think my mineral is either Halite or Rose Quartz because both look like my mineral and some of the data matches with my observations.

4. Start the experiment! (Follow the procedure.) 5. Record and analyze data. *see the attached Mineral Identification Data Sheet 6. Form a conclusion. This must be a paragraph that includes:
An answer to the problem (question 1). How your hypothesis compares with the actual results. (Was your hypothesis correct? If not, how close were you?) A description of your mineral and what helped you find the identification of your mineral the most.

In a science project, I used the scientific method to help me reveal a mystery mineral. I found that using the scientific method is a great organizing tool, and some of the steps that I thought were helpful were forming a hypothesis on what mineral could be and experimenting and gathering information on your mineral. I performed a streak test and a hardness test, which helped me form more clues on my mystery mineral. My mineral is shaped like a square, with a mostly clear yet peachish color. In addition, my mineral has a glassy luster and is smooth to the touch, meaning that it is mostly cleavage. Another trait my mineral also has is optical property, which means that it is almost transparent. What helped me the most to identify my mineral is the chart that was on Mr. Finan's website. This really helped me get going in the right direction since it already had some names of minerals and colors. Then I looked at the data and information about the minerals to see which one matched my mystery mineral the best. To conclude, I think that the scientific method is a great method to use for many reasons and experiments.
WCS 6th Grade Science

WCS 6th Grade Science