New
New
Year 3

Everyday uses of rocks

I can list some everyday uses of rocks and explain how the physical properties of rocks make them suitable for different jobs.

New
New
Year 3

Everyday uses of rocks

I can list some everyday uses of rocks and explain how the physical properties of rocks make them suitable for different jobs.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The appearance and physical properties of rocks make them suitable for different jobs.
  2. People have used rocks for millions of years to build things that are useful to our lives.

Common misconception

May think that rocks are all the same and can be used interchangeably for any object made from rock. Often don't know that many everyday objects are partly made from rock in its broken down form.

Encourage the children to research the many ways that rock is used even in objects which don't appear on first look to contain any rock material.

Keywords

  • Rock - Rock is a solid material that occurs naturally in Earth.

  • Suitability - Suitability is the fact of being acceptable or right for something or someone.

  • Appearance - The appearance of an object is the way something looks.

  • Physical properties - Physical properties are features which can be observed from the way something looks, feels or can be measured.

Encourage children to look at labels and ingredients on packets of products used for building or gardening to spot which contain constituents of rock. Farmers and gardeners use things like lime from limestone to make the land more fertile to grow.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Access to secondary resources about the Stone Age may be helpful.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Rock is a natural material found in the Earth's ...
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: crust, ground, surface, crust
Q2.
Which of these are names of rocks?
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Correct answer: limestone
Correct answer: marble
pebble
concrete
Correct answer: sandstone
Q3.
Match the object to the materials it is made from.
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Correct Answer:pencil ,wood and graphite

wood and graphite

Correct Answer:shoe,leather

leather

Correct Answer:notebook,paper

paper

Correct Answer:statue,rock

rock

Correct Answer:sock,wool

wool

Q4.
Which physical property did Friedrich Mohs create a scale to measure?
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permeability
attractiveness
Correct answer: hardness
flexibility
durability
Q5.
Rocks have different physical properties which we can and measure.
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Correct Answer: observe, see
Q6.
Look at the image of the chalk in water. What do the results tell you about the rock?
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Correct answer: It is permeable.
It is impermeable.

6 Questions

Q1.
Since when have people been using rocks to make useful things?
Correct answer: the Stone Age
the Iron Age
the Bronze Age
the Victorian era
Q2.
We choose certain rocks for specific uses because of their ...
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: suitability
Q3.
Which of these everyday objects would rock be suitable for?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: a skateboard ramp
a window pane
Correct answer: a kitchen work surface
Correct answer: a bird bath
a scarf
Q4.
Which of these physical properties would make a rock suitable to build Stonehenge?
An image in a quiz
soft and crumbly
shiny and permeable
Correct answer: durable and impermeable
Q5.
Match the objects that Stone Age people used to the rocks they may have been made from.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:cave painting ,chalk

chalk

Correct Answer:bowl,marble

marble

Correct Answer:arrowhead,flint

flint

Correct Answer:necklace,limestone

limestone

Q6.
Which of these actions does rock play a part in?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: brushing our teeth with toothpaste
smiling at a friend
looking out the window
Correct answer: a gymnast rubbing their hands in a powder to increase their grip
Correct answer: making ceramic pots
Q2 ©Slaviboy, Wikimedia commons.org Q5 Gino D'Achille: Cave Settlement of Neanderthal Man, about 70,000 BC. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.