Lab #3: Rocks and Construction

Quartz

     Quartz is a mineral that is clear or slightly white in color.  Its chemical formulas is SiO₂. There are many different varieties of quartz, including the rather well known purple amethyst.  The picture below shows pure quarts, which is a transparent and white color.  

Granite

     Granite is a type of rock made up of quartz, feldspare, and hornblende.  Although granite may have different amounts of each mineral, it must have at least 20% of quartz to be classified as granite.  Smaller amounts of quartz would mean the rock was a diorite.  Granite is often polished and used for counter tops.  The picture below shows an unpolished granite rock.

Sandstone

     Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed of sand and other rocks and minerals of the same size.  Sandstone can be almost any color, but it is most commonly tan, brown, red, yellow, pink, white or black.  The picture below shows a red block of sandstone. 

Gneiss

     Gneiss is a rock that is formed from igneous or sedimentary rocks.  A defining feature of Gneiss is its layers.  The picture below shows a gneiss rock with various gray and white layers.

Cruz Plaza

     Cruz plaza is the latest improvement to Mercer University's Macon campus.  The plaza will replace the current porter patch and stretch from the historic quad and Greek village past the Tarver library.  The plaza is named after the Cruz family from Puerto Rico.  Although the construction is not pleasant for the students, the end results will be well worth the hassle.  The picture below shows a computer generated image of what the finished Cruz plaza will look like.  

     There are some considerations that the construction workers must keep in mind while working on the plaza. 1) The construction site could be a safety issue to students who frequently walk near or through the areas where heavy machinery and equipment is being used.  The construction workers must be very careful not to bring any harm to the students. 2) The workers must be aware of any previously exciting infrastructures.  Earlier in the year, a gas line was broken by the construction and buildings had to be evacuated.  This is something that the workers will most definitely want to avoid.  There are several other items to consider when doing a large construction project such as this, but the workers are doing a great job so far, and hopefully the construction of Cruz plaza will continue without any major issues.