SUPER SWEET GEOLOGY

We made some yummy treats to help me to learn more about geology. I learned about the three main types of rock.

FUDGY IGNEOUS ROCKS

Igneous rocks are formed when very hot runny rock goes hard. This happens with volcanic rock that turns from lava into basalt.

I made some fudge which is formed in the same way. You start by melting the ingredients together and then it sets hard.

METAMORPHIC BROWNIES

Metamorphic rocks form when rocks get very hot and squeezed under pressure. Marble is an example of this kind of rock. Marble starts off being limestone (which is a sedimentary rock) and gets squeezed and heated up because of volcanic and seismic activity deep under the earth.

My brownies were made in a similar way. The ingredients started off looking a certain way and changed into something different (something harder) after it had been heated up in the oven.

SEDIMENTARY SUNDAE

Sedimentary rocks are formed from many layers of rock piling up on top of one another. Sandstone is a good example.

I made a sedimentary ice cream sundae by putting layers of brownie, ice cream, fudge (for igneous boulders) together. Yum!

PUMPKIN SCIENCE

I grew a lovely fat pumpkin in the garden this summer. I did an experiment to find out about a substance called CELLULOSE.

What is cellulose?
Cellulose is the substance that makes plants tough and woody. It is found in plant cells. The reason we have to cook some vegetables is because we need to break down the cellulose so that we can digest it. Animals like cows do not have to cook grass before they eat it because their digestive system is able to break it down. We would get very bad tummy ache if we tried to eat grass.

I cut up three pieces of pumpkin and boiled them up in these different liquids:

1. Plain water
2. Bicarbonate of soda (alkaline)
3. Apple cider vinegar (acid)

I wanted to find out which one would get softest the quickest.

 

 

 

THE RESULTS!

 

 

The pumpkin with the apple cider vinegar got softest first, followed by the plain water and then the bicarbonate of soda. I have found out that our stomachs have acid in them (a bit like the vinegar) which helps to break down the food.

 

 

After I finished my experiment, we made the pumpkin into a jack o'lantern.



ROCKWATCH COMPETITION!

I was so excited to win first prize in the Rockwatch competition for a video I made on rocks and fossils. Here is a link to my video which I put on YouTube:

http://youtu.be/BvyO-UKK148

I went to London to the offices of the big mining company Anglo American to collect my prize which was a cheque for £100! I met lots of other children who are interested in Geology including a girl called Eloise. She won second prize for a video she made about trilobites. A geologist gave a talk and I asked a question and won a special geologist's magnifying glass.

We also went to the Tower of London to see the thousands of poppies that were put there to commemorate the First World War.

I was super excited to see my picture in the Rockwatch magazine.