Minerals Lab
1. The rate of cooling definitely affects the size of crystals. The crystals that formed on ice formed much faster, and the crystals seemed much smaller. The crystals that cooled on the lab bench cooled much slower, but they appeared much larger. It was hard to identify individual crystals, but the thin rays extending from the centers were much longer in the sample that cooled on the bench, and much shorter in the sample that cooled on ice. 3. Adding seed crystals does slightly affect the crystallization process. The saturated solution with seed crystals began the crystal formation and finished the crystal formation several seconds before the solution without seed crystals. The seed crystals provide a pla
It is also naturally magnetic, and so can be used for magnetic therapy and in various pieces of machinery. In the first part of the lab, we observed the difference between crystals that form slowly in cold temperatures and fast in warm temperatures. Next we observed four minerals under plane polarized and cross polarized light, observing the different interference colors that each mineral showed. Lastly, we observed and tested several physical properties of an unknown mineral, including color, luster, transparency, hardness, and streak. Using these interference colors, we were able to identify the individual minerals. We used a computer program to help us identify this mineral based on these physical properties. Magnetite can be used for many purposes, including the extraction of iron ore. We observed the varying shapes of these crystals, and used our observations to help us identify an unknown mineral. ce for the saturated solution to crystallize on. We compared the speed that these crystals formed, and the size of the crystals. The unknown crystal shape appears to be isometric (cubic), and we identified the crystal as being sodium chloride (NaCl). Based on my observations of the four crystals under plane polarized and cross polarized light, I conclude that number 1 is quartz, number 2 is hornblende, number 3 is garnet, and number 4 is olivine. However, crystallizing on a something other than a seed crystal will make the crystallization process slower.
Common topics in this essay:
,
seed crystals,
saturated solution,
cross polarized light,
solution seed crystals,
crystals saturated solution,
plane polarized cross,
physical properties,
polarized cross polarized,
identify individual,
sample cooled,
plane polarized,
polarized cross,
cross polarized,
polarized light,
unknown mineral,
|
Acceptance Essays
