By examining the NIST Stone wall via the Internet, students will determine the weathering rate of various rocks in the mid-Atlantic region. They will then pick a rock to use in building their "dream house" and justify their choice. Students should have a background in types of rocks. Educational levels: High school

Keith McKain

English

Digital Library for Earth System Education

K.A.McKain  p. 1 of 3 
TITLE: Building Stones of the US    
TOPIC: Weathering of Building Stones 
 
GRADE LEVEL: 8-12 
 
CONTENT OBJECTIVE & SHORT DESCRIPTION: By examining the NIST Stone wall via 
the Internet, students will determine the weathering rate of various rocks in the mid-Atlantic 
region.  They will then pick a rock to use in building their “dream house” and justify their 
choice. Students should have a background in types of rocks. 
 
CONTENT STANDARD:   
National Science Education Standard D (9-12) - Earth and Space Science Standards: 
Geochemical cycles; National Geography Standards (9-12) - Environment and Society: The 
changes that occur in the meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources 
 
RESOURCE TYPE:  Computer/Internet Activity 
 
TIME REQUIRED: 40 minutes + 
 
MATERIALS NEEDED: Computers with Internet connection 
 
DIRECTIONS FOR INSTRUCTION/ACTIVITY:
Building Stones of the United States: NAME _______________________________ 
 The NIST Test Wall 
 
NOTE:  Either site will work for the lab – but the first is less likely to crash. 
The modified lab can be found at:  http://cep.cl.k12.md.us/mckain/StoneWall/Startup.htm 
The “live” connection is:                 http://stonewall.nist.gov/default.htm           
 
A stone test wall was constructed to study the performance of stone subjected to 
weathering. It contains 2352 individual samples of stone, of which 2032 are domestic stone 
from 47 states, and 320 are stones from 16 foreign countries.  Over 30 distinct types of 
stones are represented, some of which are not commonly used for building purposes. There 
are many varieties of the common types used in building.   
 The Wall is located at the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) site in 
Gaithersburg, Maryland, at the Southwest end of the campus. The wall faces South, 
providing a direct exposure to the sunlight. The back face to the North resides all day long in 
the wall's shadow. 
 The wall was built in 1948 at the NBS site in Washington D.C. The wall was placed in 
jeopardy by the move of NBS to Gaithersburg, MD in the middle 1960s and the occupancy of 
the old NBS site by the University of the District of Columbia. The wall was moved intact in 
May 1977 to its present site at NBS (now the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
(NIST)) in Gaithersburg, MD.   
 Examine the site by looking through the parts labeled: Introduction, Features of the Wall, 
Location and Orientation, Documentation, and Miscellaneous Pictures.  Once you are familiar 
with the ideas behind the StoneWall - the most direct way to work is by using the “Search by 
classification” option. 
K.A.McKain  p. 2 of 3 
 
YOUR JOB is to investigate the wall using the web site (above) to determine which types of 
rock would be the best for building in our part of the United States and which might be the 
least desirable.  In our study of rocks - we have examined more than a dozen of the kinds of 
stone included in the wall.  Your work today should concentrate on:  
Andesite 
Argillite (Slate)  
Basalt  
Conglomerate 
Coquina 
Gabbro 
Gneiss 
Granite 
Limestone 
Marble 
Quartzite 
Sandstone 
Schist 
 
EVALUATION:
Examine as many pictures as you can in the time that you have.  Answer the following 
questions: 
 
1. Name the 2 or 3 rocks (from the list above) which appear to have weathered (broken 
down) LEAST. 
 
2. What did you see that helped you make that decision? 
 
3. Do they represent one type of rock (of the 3 types we have studied) or several types?   
 Name the type(s). 
 
4. Name the 2 or 3 rocks (from the list above) which appear to have weathered MOST. 
 
5. Do they represent one type of rock or several?  Name the type(s). 
 
6. What observations can you make that helped you make this decision? 
 
7. If you were going to build a stone house here in our school district - what kind of stone 
would you use?  What type of rock does this represent? [Be SURE to give your reasons for 
your decision - Several complete sentences are required.] 
 
8.  What factors (other than weather and exposure) might have caused the results that you 
have observed in any of the kinds of rocks?   
 
9. What factors can you think of that might cause you to choose a different kind of stone?  
 
K.A.McKain  p. 3 of 3 
 
LESSON PLAN AUTHOR & CONTACT INFO:
Keith A. McKain 
Colonel Richardson High School 
25320 Richardson Road 
Federalsburg, MD  21632 
 
keith_mckain@mail.cl.k12.md.us 
 


Building Stones of the U.S.

http://www.geosociety.org/educate/LessonPlans/NIST_StoneWallActivity.pdf

Building Stones of the U.S.

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