Thursday, November 18, 2010

Minerals!

This week we began talking about minerals. What is a mineral you ask? O.K., all together as if in one voice...a mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure. Very good.

Minerals are amazing and we use them all the time. Indeed, our bodies physically require minerals and if we did not have access to them we would not survive for long. Minerals are also beautiful. Check out this video of the largest known crystal cave in the world in Mexico (optional):


BlogWork

Go to the following website: geology.com/minerals

On the website you will find links to a bunch of mineral-related topics from "Diamonds to Coal" to "Sea Floor Nodules." Pick one of the links and read through the information.

Write 10 (ten) sentences in your own words describing some of the things you learned in that link.

13 comments:

Thingy Two :) said...

Jadeite
Jadeite is used for jewelry.Its is light green dark green and white.Its streak is colorless.And its shiny or luster is vitreous.It's hardness is 6.0 to 7.0. It's Gravity is 3.2 to 3.4. Its can also be used for weapons and ornaments.It's cleavage is prismatic,good.And its crystal system is monoclinic.

sir laughsalot the good (great was taken) said...

Topazes main claim to fame is that it’s a gemstone. I never knew that the blue topaz and the pink topaz was almost always made in a lab or treated. I like how hard (eighth on the mohs scale) topaz is. I also never knew that it’s normally clear. I agree with the sight that since topaz is fragile it should be a pendent or a necklace but not a ring because it breaks easily. I agree with he sight in I think that when you buy topaz you should be able to know its history and if its lab created or tampered. I learned that only small amounts of red, pink, blue, and green. I also learned that topaz is not abundant on earth. I also learned that compared to other minerals its resistant to streams.

Bobby said...

Kyanite
I learned several things about Kyanite. Firstly that it can expand significantly when heated. I also learned that it is used as a heat resistant binding medium in cutting tools. I also learned that clear Kyanite can be used as a gemstone in jewelry. It is also considered a "exotic" gemstone. It is also used in high refractory strength porcelain. Its hardness varies from 4.5 to 5 in length.And 6.5 to 7 in width.

L said...

Quartz comes in many forms of shape, size, and color. It may look like a normal rock or a chunk of glass. As well as many forms it is also found in many places. In fact quartz is the most abundant mineral on the earth's surface. It's a good thing quartz is so plentiful because it has many uses. Maybe one of the reasons it is used so often is because it is so hard (7). It is also very beautiful. A quartz crystal is hexagonal and transparent or translucent. Quartz is also very interesting (see above).

insanity prawn boy said...

THAS RIGHT!!!
Gold is both an element and a mineral while in its native state. Gold is as everyone knows is one of the mostly prized minerals do to its shinnynes and its prettiness. Gold has many properties and has many uses that make gold useful and desired by many. This makes gold worth a whole lot of money. While you may be able to find small deposits of gold nearly everywhere, the larger deposits are extremely scarce. Even with 12 different types of gold minerals they are very hard to find. Due to this much of the gold that is found in nature is in the form of a native metal. Gold is created in hydrothermal veins that are found in rocks.
THAS RIGHT!!!!

Thing one! said...

~~Quartz~~


Quartz otherwise known as SiO2, two part silicon and two parts oxygen. It is pretty durable, has a hardness of 7. Quartz can also be made into jewelry, such as Translucent rose quartz. The color of Quarts can be clear, white, gray, purple, yellow, brown, black, pink, green, red. Quartz has a glassy luster type look. Quarts can also be found in sand. Some of the uses for Quartz polishing compounds, grinding compounds, fillers and extenders. When you try and streak Quarts, its is comes out colorless because the Quarts is harder than the streak plate. Quartz is also used to make weapons, at first thats what Quarts was used for.

-Thing one!

danceMAGICdance said...

I did quartz!
1. Quartz is one silicon and two oxygen
2. It's one of the most copious mineral all over the world.
3. Quartz is the 7th on the Mohs Hardness Scale
4. Quartz is used in glass making
5. Quartz can be made into sand to be used in rubber, paint, and putty
6. Let's just say: next time you go on the beach, you might be walking upon quartz!!!!
7. Quartz is invulnerable to being broken
8. Quartz is in silca
9. Quartz has a higher melting temperature than most metals
10. Quartz is in a lot of jewelry!!!

I hate duct tape said...

Sodalite
Sodalite is a lot of the the times used for decorative purposes. It can be multiple colors; for example, it can be blue, white, colorless, red etc. The streaks are white and/or blue. it has no cleavage. The hardness is 5.5-6. The specific gravity is 2.2-2.3. You can distinguish sodalite from other minerals by looking at he colors, though I don't really get that for the website said it can be multiple colors.the crystal system is isometric. The luster is vitreous. Are we allowed to go OVER ten lines, though your answer is useless because I already went over ten lines with this sentence.

Anonymous said...

The video was cool. And I saw the 2 hour show on National Geographic last month.

Good Cookie said...

Turquoise is a mineral used for decorative stone and as a gemstone for things like necklaces. It has many colors such as: sky blue, turquoise green, greenish gray, and apple green. On the mineral there are also white and green streaks. Turquoise is very waxy and nearly opaque with perfect cleavage. The hardness is between 5.0 to 6.o and its gravity is 2.6 to a 2.8. The easiest way to distinguish a Turquoise mineral is by it's color witch sets it apart from everything else quite clearly. Another important fact about this mineral is its crystal system which happens to be triclinic. So those are some of the most important facts you need to know about Turquoise.

HurricaneSmokey said...

Topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral found in igneous rocks. Topaz in one of the popular gemstones. Topaz's color varies from yellow to brown. Topaz is a very hard mineral. It is best used for earrings. It is less used for rings because the topaz can bump easily.Different colors of topaz can be heated to make a new color of it.For example Brown topaz can be heated to make a pink stone.

Isys said...

~Diamond~
1. The diamond is the the hardest natural substance.
2. Diamonds come to land by volcanoes erupting in a big rock called xenoliths
3. Gem diamonds are mostly used for jewelry
4. Industrial diamonds are used for cutting and grinding minerals
5. Diamonds are the worlds most popular gem stone
6. Gemstone diamonds quality are determined by there color, cut, clarity, and caret
7. Diamonds are used for other things such as speakers,and windows
8. Diamonds have a very high luster
9. Diamonds are composed of carbon
10. Dimonds simple, uniform, tightly bonded arrangement them one of the most durable substances known.

Anonymous said...

most holidays have fireworks right, but how do they work? well first u lanch the firework shell wich gose high into the air, were the firework exsplodes. whats left of the firework the "stars" get propeld in to differnt directions. how it works is the fireworks shell is launched in to the air, then the sell exsplodes ignighting gun power. makeing the exspltion bigger and stronger. so the stars are throne outwards in differnt directions.the starrs burn as they are thrown outwards and make the streaks in fireworks