Rocks & Minerals
Division: Div B – Middle School
Event Rules: See the National Rules Manual
National Event Page: Here
Required Materials: A writing utensil.
Clarifications: None.
Description:
Teams will identify and classify rocks and minerals and demonstrate knowledge of how rocks and minerals help to understand the geologic processes, interpretation of earth’s history, the development of natural resources, and use by society.
Materials:
One three-ring binder of any size containing information in any form and from any source. Sheet protectors, lamination, tabs, and labels are permitted. No material may be removed from this binder. Teams may also bring one magnifying glass, one commercially produced field guide which may be tabbed and annotated, one copy of the 2026 National Rocks and Minerals List which can be annotated and does not have to be secured in the binder, and one stand-alone non-programmable, non-graphing calculator. Teams are not permitted to bring samples or specimens to the event.
Scoring:
High score wins. Predetermined questions will be used to break ties.
Common Mistakes:
None
Recommendations:
-Check out this link to find a Rocks and Minerals club near you
-As part of their outreach, the NCSU Mineral Research Lab located in Asheville will send you a free rocks kit if you are a NC teacher. Go to their website and fill out the form, and they will get one in the mail to you as soon as they are able.
Event Resources:
Digital Rock Kit – NC State Minerals Research Laboratory
2018 Specimen List
NC State GeoSciences YouTube channel. Lots of great information on this channel!
Mineral Information Institute (Great website with lesson plans, student help, information, pictures, and more)
University of Texas Geology (introduction and explanation of mineral properties)
Mineralogy Database
NASA – Rocking the Rock Cycle
Chocolate Rock Cycle Lab
Helpful Quizzes
Scholastic website: interactive lessons with the different types of rocks and minerals as well as the rock cycle:
Media:
None