By: Max, Gavin, Katie & Ailbhe

 

In Geography we were learning about the formation of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and where they are located.

We made our own sedimentary rock.

Mr. Roughan told us to bring in the materials such as pebbles, sea shells, sand, plaster of Paris, salt and sugar.

On the day, Mr. Roughan put us into groups of three or four, and then we got to work.

It was really fun making the rocks in different groups.

We learned that a sedimentary rock has lots of different layers filled with lots of minerals and fossils that have been compressed and compacted over time.

Sedimentary rocks are usually made up of broken down igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Limestone is the most famous type of sedimentary rock in Ireland.

We learned that Limestone can be found in many places but especially in the Burren, Co. Clare.

How we made it:

First every group got a base of plaster of paris and we began to place some of our fossils/sea shells on it.

Next we were given another layer of plaster on top of the already decorated one, we put sand, salt, sugar and more rocks to help stick the layers together.

We made sure each layer of the rock was a different shade of grey to represent how a sedimentary rock would look.

Finally we got the last layer and put it on top of the other ones and decorated it with shells.

On Monday we came into school and the rock were really dry and it was hard on the top but smooth on the bottom.

We are going to excavate it this week to see what the inside of a sedimentary rock looks like and also to find some of the fossils that we placed inside the rock.

We all can’t wait to see the inside of our rocks.