rocks_minerals_resources_lab_activity
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Rice University *
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Feb 20, 2024
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Rocks and Minerals as Resources Lab Activity Title
: Cookie Mining Introduction:
Like most resources, minerals are distributed unevenly around the world. Minerals are concentrated in various areas of Earth’s crust due to natural processes. Obtaining these minerals for human use involves four general steps: locating the minerals, extracting the minerals from Earth in the form of ore or rock, processing the ore to separate the impurities from the desired mineral, and creating a useful product from the minerals.
In this lab activity, you will "purchase" a mine, "rent" your mining equipment, and be supervised by an "official." You will keep track of your expenses and your income to calculate your profit (or loss). Objectives
:
After doing this lab, you should be able to
evaluate the difficulty of mining and reclamation
calculate costs, expenses, income, and profit from a hands-on mining exercise
evaluate the effectiveness of reclamation and its added costs to mining
describe the increasing rarity of some non-renewable mineral resources
Materials
:
chocolate chip cookie
toothpicks (flat and round)
paperclips
graph paper
stopwatch, timer or clock with second hand
Procedures:
Note
: Read all the instructions for this lab before you begin working! Pre-reading the procedure will give you a mental picture of what you will be doing and a better understanding of the process.
1.
First, you (the miner) must decide which land area (cookie) you are going to mine and record
this cost in your data table. The available “areas” and costs are listed below:
Store Brand: $4.00
Chips Ahoy™: $5.00
Keebler Chips Deluxe™: $6.00
2.
After purchasing your land (cookie), the miner (that's you) must rent mining equipment and record this cost in your data table. The mining must be conducted with mining tools. Do not use your hands! The mining equipment costs are:
Flat Toothpick: $2.00
Round Toothpick: $5.00
Paperclip: $7.00
3.
After purchasing your land (cookie) and equipment, the miner (you) places the cookie on a sheet of graph paper and traces the outline of the cookie.
4.
The cost of mining and reclaiming your land (labor, etc.) is $2.00/minute. Both mining and reclamation must be timed! It is up to you how long you want to mine your cookie, but you must keep track of the time. You must pay for each minute you are working to extract your “minerals”.
5.
Begin mining your cookie. You may not use your hands or fingers. Work on the graph paper. Only mining tools may be used. You decide when to stop the mining process. Your goal is to remove the chocolate chips (the ore) from the cookie (the mine). Multiple your mining time by
your labor time and record the total cost of mining in your data table.
6.
Do not dispose of the excess cookie material (keep everything on the graph paper). A parent
or guardian should act as an “official” and randomly check to make sure that you are not using your hands or fingers in the mining process.
7.
After the cookie has been mined, you must reclaim the land. To do this you must return the cookie to as close to the original shape and topography as possible. It must be placed back in the original circle. This may be done only with the mining tools. No fingers/hands are allowed! Your “official” should continue to check that you are following the rules. The topography of the mined land should closely resemble the original topography of the cookie. Be sure to record the time of the reclamation process in your data table.
8.
Incomplete reclamation efforts are fined by the government. For each graph paper square that is now different than the original cookie (that means a square that used to have cookie on it and is now empty, or a square that used to be empty and now has cookie on it), record a penalty of $1 per square in your data table.
9.
Be sure to record any fines for using your hands during mining or reclamation in your data table.
10. After your reclamation effort has been completed, the ore will be “sold.” The current price for ore is
Chocolate Chip: $2.00/chip
Note: You may combine broken chips to count as whole chips
Data
:
Name (type) of Land Area (cookie type): Chip Ahoy, Chocolate Chip Cookie
Costs and Revenue Table
Costs
Revenue
Land
Purchase Price of Land Area (cookie cost) =
$5.00
Equipment
Flat Toothpick: _____0____ × $2.00 = ___0____
Round Toothpick: ___2____× $5.00 = __10_____
Paperclip: ____0_____ × $7.00 = ____0___
Replacement Costs (for broken equipment) = ____$0___
Total Equipment Rental Cost
= _____$10______
Mining and Reclamation
Mining & Reclamation Time: ___2____ minutes × $2.00/minute = ____$4_______
Number of chocolate chips obtained = ____7______ × $2.00 =
____$14______ Total Revenue
Fines
EPA assessed "using your hands" fine ($2.00/incidence) = _____$0____
EPA assessed reclamation fines ($1.00/un-
reclaimed square) = ___$0______
Total Fines =____$0_______
To calculate your profits or losses, you must add together your costs and fines and subtract this total
value from your revenue. (Revenue – Fines – Costs) = ____$14________ (a positive number shows a profit; negative shows a loss)
Reflection Questions
:
1.
Describe the ways mining in the real world can affect society, ecosystems, and the environment of a specific region.
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Mining in the real world can affect society, ecosystems, and the environment of specific regions since mining causes social conflict and affects human and animal health. Mining affects habitats and animal life. It also causes erosion and affects the soil.
2.
Using your answers to the question above, list the criteria you believe should be addressed by land reclamation. Prioritize your criteria by order of importance. Explain the order you selected for your criteria.
I believe that controlling erosion and sedimentation, avoiding or repair wildlife habitats, then planting trees to restore the soil quality and overall ecosystem. I think erosion is the biggest thing to worry about because with are rocks and sound wearing away we will have nothing left. It is very important to keep our wildlife and soil healthy because that is what keeps us alive. 3.
Complete reclamation of mined land is the solution you practiced in this cookie mining lab. What reasoning supports this solution as one that will provide the largest benefits and least costs to society and the environment? Vegetation cover will help complete the reclamation of mined land. Plating vegetation over mined land cleans the environment and will eventually provide trees to clean the air. 4.
Legislation requiring the reclamation of the land makes mining more expensive. How important is this constraint to achieving complete reclamation of mined land? This constraint is very important because it limits people from buying the land. You have to be pretty wealthy and set on your path. This restriction lessens the amount of mining done.
5.
Were the minerals evenly distributed throughout the cookie mines? In the real world, how important is this constraint (distribution of mineral ore) to achieving complete reclamation of mined land? No, the minerals were not evenly distributed in the cookie mines. The constraint is very important to achieving complete reclamation of mined land.
6.
Were you able to restore the land exactly as it was prior to mining? In your experience, would reclamation of mined land be able to restore and stabilize the natural system of the region? I was not able to restore the land to be exactly like it was. In my experience, reclamation
of mined land may help restore and stabilize the land but it will never go back to the way it was before it was mined. Refining Design
1.
How would you refine your mining techniques in this activity in order to maximize reclamation? Be sure to include proposed changes in costs, safety, and restoration of the area.
I would use different tools and equipment to maximize reclamation. While also adjusted my angles so I would not damage the cookie as much. Then I would replace the soil I destroyed and over it with vegetation soil to help the area be restored. The cost should not change a lot, but it will overall help the environment and the world as a whole.
2.
Predict how your refined mining techniques could affect the social and environmental stability of the region. My mining techniques could affect the social and environmental stability of the region because I destroyed my cookie which would frustrate the community and affect the water, animal life, and ecosystem.