Science | Laboratory Instructions | Laboratory: Rocks and Minerals
Laboratory Instructions
Laboratory: Rocks and Minerals
Materials
Supplied
Student Guide
Laboratory Guidelines
Rocks and Minerals Virtual Lab (online)
Safety
Review the Laboratory Guidelines before conducting the lab.
Crime Summary
Early on a Sunday morning, two recreational paddlers found the body of a female teenager on the bank of the
Myakka River in Myakka River State Park in Florida. The body was next to a running trail. The young woman was
dressed in a tank top, running shorts, socks, and running shoes.
Her body was bruised, but the investigators could not tell whether the bruises were from a fall down the bank or
from some other cause. Her clothes were stained with mud from the riverbank. However, in her socks and in the
treads of her shoes, there was what appeared to be a different soil. The investigators bagged her shoes and
socks and sent the samples of the mineral to the forensic lab in which you work.
The investigators have asked you to identify the mineral in the young woman’s shoes and socks. They hope that,
by knowing the mineral, you will be able to determine the location of her death. Did she merely fall into the river
and drown or was she killed elsewhere and her body dumped into the river?
You will use your laboratory skills in this virtual lab to identify the unknown mineral. You will conduct tests on
several mineral samples for the following mineral properties:
Color
Streak
Luster
Hardness
Cleavage
special properties
You will complete all tests for each mineral. Then you will identify an unknown mineral.
Part 1: Introduction
1. Open the Rocks and Minerals Virtual Laboratory.
2. Click View Walk-through.
3. Complete the Walk-through to learn how to use the lab. The Walk-through will explain the key procedures for
the virtual lab. Knowing the basic test procedures will allow you to complete the procedures below.
4. When you have finished the Walk-through, click Home, reset the lab, click Begin the Lab, and continue with
the procedures below.
© 2015 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 4
Copying or distributing without K12’s written consent is prohibited.
Laboratory Instructions
Laboratory: Rocks and Minerals
Materials
Supplied
Student Guide
Laboratory Guidelines
Rocks and Minerals Virtual Lab (online)
Safety
Review the Laboratory Guidelines before conducting the lab.
Crime Summary
Early on a Sunday morning, two recreational paddlers found the body of a female teenager on the bank of the
Myakka River in Myakka River State Park in Florida. The body was next to a running trail. The young woman was
dressed in a tank top, running shorts, socks, and running shoes.
Her body was bruised, but the investigators could not tell whether the bruises were from a fall down the bank or
from some other cause. Her clothes were stained with mud from the riverbank. However, in her socks and in the
treads of her shoes, there was what appeared to be a different soil. The investigators bagged her shoes and
socks and sent the samples of the mineral to the forensic lab in which you work.
The investigators have asked you to identify the mineral in the young woman’s shoes and socks. They hope that,
by knowing the mineral, you will be able to determine the location of her death. Did she merely fall into the river
and drown or was she killed elsewhere and her body dumped into the river?
You will use your laboratory skills in this virtual lab to identify the unknown mineral. You will conduct tests on
several mineral samples for the following mineral properties:
Color
Streak
Luster
Hardness
Cleavage
special properties
You will complete all tests for each mineral. Then you will identify an unknown mineral.
Part 1: Introduction
1. Open the Rocks and Minerals Virtual Laboratory.
2. Click View Walk-through.
3. Complete the Walk-through to learn how to use the lab. The Walk-through will explain the key procedures for
the virtual lab. Knowing the basic test procedures will allow you to complete the procedures below.
4. When you have finished the Walk-through, click Home, reset the lab, click Begin the Lab, and continue with
the procedures below.
© 2015 K12 Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 4
Copying or distributing without K12’s written consent is prohibited.
