Find a
Resource
Select grade level(s) Select resource type(s) Select collection(s) Select standard(s) Skip navigation Digital Library for Earth System Education
Digital Library for Earth System Education
Home
New to DLESE?
Search tips
Educational resources > Find a resource > Resource description
Growing Crystals
http://www.pbs.org/safarchive/4_class/45_pguides/pguide_601/4561_glit.html#activ ...
From DLESE Community Collection (DCC)
Comment on this resource
In this activity, students grow crystals of the same substance over different periods of time to determine the relationship between time of growth and the size of the crystal. Students should understand that in this investigation evaporation of water is analogous to heat loss in a large body of rock. They learn that small crystals grow in igneous rocks that cool relatively quickly while larger crystals take more time, so they grow in igneous rocks that cool slowly. Students also learn that diamonds are found in a matrix of kimberlite, a vein or pipe of molten rock formed deep underground, and that over millions of years, heat and pressure transform carbon into diamonds.
Intended for grade levels:
  • Middle (6-8)
Type of resource:
  • For the classroom:
    • Lab activity
Subject:
  • Geological Sciences:
    • Mineralogy or petrology
Technical requirements:
No specific technical requirements, just a browser required
Cost / Copyright:
No cost
Copyright 1990-2003 The Chedd-Angier Production Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Each SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN FRONTIERS program is accompanied by an online teaching guide filled with science activities and educators are encouraged to download and photocopy these materials for use in the classroom.
DLESE Catalog ID: DLESE-000-000-008-233
Educational standards:
  • National Science Education Standards (NSES):
    • 5-8:
      • Unifying concepts and processes:
        • Evidence, models, and explanation
      • A - Science as inquiry:
        • Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
      • B - Physical science:
        • Properties and changes of properties in matter
      • D - Earth and space science:
        • Structure of the earth system
Resource contact / Creator / Publisher:
Publisher: The Chedd-Angier Production Company, Scientific American Frontiers Television Series