Preliminary: Rocks and Minerals

[Kokonilly]

Also, I would recommend making a binder rather than using a field guide. Even if you tab it, guides aren't as easy for finding the information you want right away (they typically have the picture and the info in different sections, if I'm not mistaken). You can use a binder and a field guide together if the rules haven't changed, but in all honesty, the only use I ever got from my field guide was letting another team borrow it because they forgot theirs (and I'm pretty good at the event, got 3rd at Nationals when I was in 9th grade).

Oh, I see; this is the replacement for Fossils, so that makes perfect sense. I remember using my Fossils field guide at one competition, just to be absolutely certain and out of nervousness (then again, we did do pretty well at nationals, so... ). I'm guessing that many of the tips and tricks from Fossils carry over to R&M.

[salcedam]

I've never done an ID event like Fossils before so I'm excited to learn about this shtuff.

[anatomy]

R&M seems interesting and because i did fossils i am going to do this as well
i have never seen the rules, so i don't know what i am suppose to know about the rocks and minerals. Is it just identification and background info. or are there any other important factors that relate to an individual rock or mineral that i need to learn about?

[pjgscioisamazing]

R&M seems interesting and because i did fossils i am going to do this as well
i have never seen the rules, so i don't know what i am suppose to know about the rocks and minerals. Is it just identification and background info. or are there any other important factors that relate to an individual rock or mineral that i need to learn about?

These are the topics listed in the rules from 2008. It says "Topics may include, but are not limited to:"

a. Specimen ID
b. Rock Cycle
c. Properties of Minerals
d. Mineral Groups
e. Economic Importance
f. Formation and Properties of Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks
g. Clues to Past Environments
h. Composition and Structure of Minerals
i. Bowen's Reaction Series

[havenguy]

R&M seems interesting and because i did fossils i am going to do this as well
i have never seen the rules, so i don't know what i am suppose to know about the rocks and minerals. Is it just identification and background info. or are there any other important factors that relate to an individual rock or mineral that i need to learn about?

These are the topics listed in the rules from 2008. It says "Topics may include, but are not limited to:"

a. Specimen ID
b. Rock Cycle
c. Properties of Minerals
d. Mineral Groups
e. Economic Importance
f. Formation and Properties of Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks
g. Clues to Past Environments
h. Composition and Structure of Minerals
i. Bowen's Reaction Series

Thanks, that actually clears things up a lot.

[anatomy]

thank you this really helps

[quizbowl]

Do you think we should also know the Goldrich reaction series? It's pretty similar to Bowen's.

[pjgscioisamazing]

Do you think we should also know the Goldrich reaction series? It's pretty similar to Bowen's.

It wouldn't hurt, but I've only seen questions on Bowen's

[prelude to death]

For those who have previously done the event, is there anything asked about the specimen, or is it just IDing it? (So, are there any certain properties that you should know besides the basic color, luster, cleavage, streak, hardness, formation, etc? Or should I just find as many properties and stuff about it as I can?)

[pjgscioisamazing]

For those who have previously done the event, is there anything asked about the specimen, or is it just IDing it? (So, are there any certain properties that you should know besides the basic color, luster, cleavage, streak, hardness, formation, etc? Or should I just find as many properties and stuff about it as I can?)

Sometimes it will ask to name it, sometimes it will ask about specific properties (like luster, hardness, streak, formula, etc.), and sometimes both.