Academy Curricular Exchange
Columbia Education Center
Science

TITLE:  Crystal Growing

AUTHOR:  Darlene S. Rinkes; James C. Isabell, Teller, AK

GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT:  Grades 1 through l2
   Subject Areas: Science, Art, Vocational Education

OVERVIEW:
Safety measures must be in place when working with chemicals/materials
used in these activities in order to prevent personal injury or pollution of
the environment when disposing of used materials.

PURPOSE:
Living on this earth entails an understanding of elements of it, even to the
smallest detail of beauty.

OBJECTIVE(s): 
Students will distinguish living from nonliving matter.
Students will measure crystal growth using the metric system.
Students will explain three industrial uses of minerals.
Students will learn to take notes from lecture by filling in an outline of
main points covered.

RESOURCES/MATERIALS:
Sodium silicate(waterglass), water-soluble crystals, protective goggles,
plastic spoons for handling chemicals, 7-dram vials for crystal gardens,
hand magnifiers, alum, microscopes, silver nitrate solution, copper wire,
acetamide crystal, microscope slides, heat source, graph paper and metric
rulers, chart paper, overhead projector for demonstrations or
microprojector.

ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES

1. Students will make mini-crystal gardens using waterglass and water
-soluble minerals, timing and measuring growth of stalactites and
stalagmites.  They will graph this growth.  Afterwards, students will
distinguish whether crystals are living or nonliving by developing a
comparison chart of characteristics of each.

2. Students will grow crystals on copper wire using silver nitrate
solution.

3. Students, using acetamide crystal, will melt it and observe re
-crystallization patterns.  Designs of these patterns will be reproduced in
color after observing them through filters.

4. Students will observe minerals of different types under a blacklight,
distinguishing their composition from charts relating composition to
color under a blacklight.

5. Students will grow crystals under different conditions with alum and
household items such as cough syrups. salt, sugar, measuring growth rate
and comparing that rate under different conditions.

6. Students will observe beach sands, distinguishing mineral content, then
observe sand paper under a microscope, also distinguishing minerals used.
Discussion of industrial diamonds and other industrial uses of minerals
will take place after articles on these topics are read.

TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
Using a videodisc segment, students will, in groups, explain sources of
crystals/minerals and their uses.  At an open house, students will display
their crystal activities while explaining their results.

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