Purpose

• Gather and analyze information.

• Students will become familiar with data collection using a spreadsheet program.

Description

• Students will be able to store the information they have collected during their mineral identification activities in a spreadsheet program. Students can then use this data collection to identify some unknown mineral samples. They will also become familiar with a very resourceful spreadsheet program.

Activity Preparation

• Prepare a handout with some tips for using the new spreadsheet program if students are not familiar with it. This Handout could also include some Websites for online tutorials.

• Get students to gather all of the information they have collected while identifying different minerals in class. This information may come from lab reports, class notes or activities like the photo gallery.

• Prepare an example that the students can follow while inputting the data into the spreadsheet.

• Invite a local geologist into the classroom to discuss the importance of recording data in his/her line of work.

Activity Procedure

1. Introduce students to the spreadsheet program. Allow students to investigate how the program works.
2. Introduce the new activity and allow students to gather their previous information.
3. Invite a local geologist to speak to the class and bring samples of his/her data collection.
4. Give students a copy of the example spreadsheet. This will give the students an indication of what will be expected of them.
5. Allow students to input data.
6. Make sure that students print a hard copy for future use.
7. This activity should be done over two days. Introduce students to the new program and gather their data on day one. The remainder of the project should be completed on day two. Takes approximately 75 minutes minutes to complete.

Tools and Resources

Software

• Spreadsheet program

Websites

• http://www.theimage.com/mineral/minerals1.html
  

• http://www.webmineral.com/specimensB.shtml
  

• http://un2sg4.unige.ch/athena/mineral/mineral.html

• http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edpy202/tutorial/spreadsheet/spreadsheet.htm

Assessment

• Students should hand in a hard copy of the data collection for your evaluation and corrections.  

• The importance of the corrections is for the benefit of the students that will be using them to identify some unknown minerals in future activities.

Comments

• This activity will produce a systematic data collection for the identification of other minerals in future activities.

• You could enhance this activity by allowing the students to investigate some unknown hand specimens using their data collections. To get students thinking critically, you should provide specimens that they have not been working with in the lab.  Students can interpret from their data collections.