You’re diving straight into Unit 1: Foundations. Minerals make up a significant portion of high school Earth science competition content, so it's worth investing a lot of time into the concepts in this unit!
<aside> ➡️ Your tasks for this assignment are to read the attached document and answer the recall questions.
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<aside> 🧭 Optional: Watch the 5-minute video by SAFOD Earthquake Geoscience exploring the petrographic microscope and thin section. Additionally, watch the 6-minute video by Mike Sammartano introducing mineral ID. (Note that you’re given a reference table.)
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This unit covers minerals (Section 1) and rocks (Section 2). Learning about rocks and minerals might seem like a lot of meaningless memorization at first, but the knowledge serves as your foundations for understanding the geosphere. What might the presence of augite tell you about a geologic setting? Knowing a bit about augite is the first step towards decoding Earth's processes.
You should aim to understand the concepts covered in the readings. While some level of memorization is important, it should not be your only focus. Take note of two features that may be helpful when using the readings. (1) Use the built-in navigation feature in Google Docs to quickly find content. (2) Throughout, blue text indicates the presence of facts that are not essential to the understanding of a concept but may be useful in competition.
<aside> ⚠️ Please do not directly distribute Archive material without reaching out first. You may, however, share links to the Archive.
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The difficulty of these readings varies from person to person. If you find yourself needing more in-depth explanations, feel free to reach out! This advice is especially relevant to beginners in Earth science. If you don't understand a term that comes up, you should take the time to google/ask for clarification.
Password: ESP
If you want to get better at recalling things, you can practice with the Quizlet flashcards attached to this assignment. These flashcards may contain some mistakes/omissions of content but are generally solid resource to practice with. Reach out if you spot any errors.
Mineral Identification Challenge
Sections 1 & 2 (ESP) Flashcards | Quizlet
<aside> 💡 Recall questions serve as a way for you to gauge your progress. Give them your best shot and don’t be afraid to refer back to the reading! Then, view the answers and explanations here.
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