geo3510-sp/ch10

Week 12, 11/14-11/20:

Reading Assignment: Chapter 10

Building Materials and Other Industrial Minereals

Unit (Chapter) Plan:

Contents
(unit topics)

Activities
(things you must do)

Abilities Acquired
(what you learned)

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Visit this web site: CNN to check for current news on the World Resources

Contents (topics):

Untreated Rock Products
Building Stone || Marble for the Masters || Crushed Rock || Sand and Gravel || Vermiculite, Perlite and Other Lightweight Aggregates

Treated Rock Products
Cement || Plaster || Brick and Ceramic Products || Glass

Other Major Industrial Minerals
Asbestos || Refractories, Foundry Sand, and Fluxes || Fillers and Pigments || What is this Page Made of?

Diamond and Other Abrasives
Synthetic Diamonds || Barite || Zeolites || Bituminous Materials || Gemstones

Study Aid: Click here for a list of bullet points to help you learn the topics of this chapter.

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Activities (things you must do):

Read Chapter Ten of your textbook

Review the news on Mining <http://www.northernminer.com/>

Click on this link <http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/recycle/> to learn about Recycling Statistics and Information

Learn Commodity Statistics and Information of:

Silica- http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silica/

Construction Sand and Gravel- http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/sand_&_gravel_construction/

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Abilities Acquired (what you learned):

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

1.- Discuss, with examples, how and why the exploitation and marketing of building materials differs from such commodities as oil, coal, or base metals.

2.- Identify the various categories of building stone.

3.- List the rock types have been most commonly used in the construction industry.

4.- Explain why crushed rock is the largest volume mineral commodity used in the U.S. and many other countries.

5.- Name the major sources of sand and gravel used in the construction industries worldwide. How are they exploited, and what problems may this exploitation cause?

6.- Explain the meaning of lightweight and ultra-lightweight aggregate. Discuss the sources and utilization of these commodities.

7.- Describe the process involved in the manufacture of cement. How and by whom was cement invented?

8.- Explain why gypsum is an important industrial mineral. Where is it obtained, how did it form, and for what is it used?

9.- Give an account of the raw materials used in the glass industry and the ways in which they are employed.

10.- Describe what actually "asbestos" is. How do asbestos minerals form, and where does mining of asbestos take place?

11.- Discuss the health hazards associated with the asbestos industry. How should this problem be tackled?

12.- Explain what "mineral fillers"are. Give examples and describe their uses.

13.- Explain the origin of natural diamonds. Can diamonds be made and, if so, how?

14.- Give an account of the raw materials used as abrasives and where they are obtained.

15.- Discuss why the demand for the industrial mineral barite closely linked to the oil industry. Give an account of the nature, origin, and uses of this mineral.

16.- Zeolites are minerals that have become important commodities in the latter half of the 20th Century. Explain why this is so, and give an account of the nature, origin, and uses of the minerals of this group.

17.- Oils and bitumens have many other uses than burning as fuels. Describe some of them, and explain their importance in the modem world.

18.- Explain how pearls and cultured pearls are formed.

19.- Explain why certain minerals are highly prized as gems. List examples of the ten most important gemstones.

20.- Discuss the use of minerals in cosmetics, medicines, and food supplements.

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