- Aerated Water
- Air Engine
- Air Table
- Are you Hot or Not?
- Balancing Act
- Bending Beams
- Block the gap
- Braille
- Bridge the Gap
- Chalk Wall
- Changing Faces
- Chaotic Motion
- Circle of Discovery
- Circle of Discovery- The Internet
- Circle of Discovery-Bridge Design
- Circle of Discovery-Ideas hub
- Circle of Discovery-Internet
- Circle of Discovery-Medicine
- Circle of Discovery-photography
- Circle of Discovery: Design - Earthquake
- Circulation
- Colour Wheel
- Communication Codes
- Communication Dishes
- Computer
- Crystallography
- Digestive System
- Down the Drain
- Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Fibre Optics
- Flight Simulator
- Gear Table
- Handshake Mirror
- Harmonograph
- High Flyer
- Hit the Target
- Horizontal Periscope
- Human Battery
- It's Electric
- Larger Than Life
- Lift Me Pull You
- Light Table
- Lock Box
- Making Waves
- Mini Harmonograph
- Mobile Phone
- Move It
- Nervous System
- Newtons Cradle
- Organ Pipe
- Organ Pipe Tune
- Oscillating Pendulums
- Pendulums
- People Power
- Periscope
- Prove Pythagoras
- Radar
- Radio Station
- Reactable
- Reflection Refraction
- Robot Arm
- Science of Sport
- Sensation
- Simple Camera
- Simple Circuits
- Smoke Tunnel
- Solar Energy
- Sound Waves
- Structures and Stresses
- Telescope
- The Exhibition
- The Eye
- The Lung and Chest Cavity
- The Wheel Race
- Thermal Imager
- Tornado
- Tower of Hanoi
- Universe Wall
- Up and Down
- Vertical Periscope
- Viscosity
- Viscosity Plungers
- Volume and Mass
- Vortex
- Watch Your Waste
- Weight Lifter
- Wheels Within Wheels
- Wind Tunnel
Chalk Wall
The Science Bit
INTECH is built on chalk. Here you can see part of the chalk face exposed during excavation into the contours of Morn Hill. It was formed 65-70 million years ago in the Cretaceous period. Chalk is a sedimentary rock made from the skeleton shells of millions of tiny sea creatures (foraminifera) and pieces of microscopic plants (cocoliths). Sedimentary rocks are the only kind of rocks that contain fossils.
How rock is formed:
Geologists have studied rocks and grouped them into three types depending on the way they are formed. Igneous rock and metamorphic rock are produced by processes within the earth. Igneous rock is formed from molten rock and metamorphic rocks result from changes in heat and pressure.
Sedimentary rock is formed by the accumulation of tiny particles (sediment) produced either by weathering and erosion of the surface of the earth e.g. sandstone or the gradual depositing of plant material and the skeletons of tiny animals on the bottom of the sea bed e.g. chalk. Many layers are built up over millions of years, becoming squashed and hardened into rock.
Sedimentary rock is formed by deposits of matter from older rocks and/or animal or plant remains. Sedimentary rock covers most of the surface of the Earth but is often covered by soil. Matter from exposed areas, such as mountains, are carried by water to the sea. The matter then settles as fine silts. As these materials settle and more settles on top, water is squeezed out of the gaps between the particles. The particles are then free to bind together. This process takes place over a very long period of time. Fossils are found exclusively in this type of rock, also found in sedimentary rock is mineral resources such as coal.
Metamorphic rock is formed by older rocks when they become subjected to extreme heat or pressure. The heat and pressure changes the older rocks composition and structure, forming metamorphic rocks. Gases and fluids sometimes also contribute to the change in state of rocks. The sedimentary rock limestone changes into the metamorphic rock marble when put under such conditions. Most changes happen deep within the Earths crust where heat and pressure is much greater than it is nearer the Earths surface.
Igneous rock is the main rock found at the Earths crust. Igneous rock is one that forms from solidifying from a molten state. Molten state matter below the Earths surface is known as magma. If it is forced out from beneath the Earths surface through volcanoes it is called lava. The particular type of rock produced depends on how fast the magma cools. If it is cooled slowly, deep beneath the Earths surface the minerals have time to grow to a large size, producing rock such as granite. If the magma is nearer the surface it cools quicker, producing rock such as basalt. Hardened lava is often light and porous, producing rock such as pumice.
Curriculum Links
Sorting and using materials
- That there are many materials and these can be named and described
- To group materials together and make a record of groupings
- That materials can be sorted in a variety of ways according to their properties
Grouping and changing materials
- That there is a range of materials with different characteristics
- That some materials occur naturally and some do not
- The names of some naturally occurring materials
- That some naturally occurring materials are treated (shaped, polished) before they are used
Characteristics of materials
- To identify a range of common materials and that the same material is used to make different objects
- To recognise properties such as hardness, strength and flexibility and compare materials in terms of these properties
- That materials are suitable for making a particular object because of their properties and that some properties are more important than others when deciding what to use
Rocks and soils
- That beneath all surfaces there is rock
- That there are different kinds of soil depending on the rock from which they come
- That rocks can be grouped according to observable characteristics
- To observe and compare rocks
Last Modified: 28/07/2011
