Mrs. Carney’s Class — Come Discover
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Alina’s Gems
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I had five questions about crystals.
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Are they rare?
Ch. 5
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Are they easy to find?
Ch. 5
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Why do we need them?
Ch. 6
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How big can they get?
Ch. 2
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Are minerals crystals too?
Ch. 1
Here’s what I found.
Ch. 1
Are minerals crystals too?
This is an atom. It’s so small you can’t really see one — but I can show you what they do.
What Alina Learned
Yes. Crystals are made of atoms in a pattern — and that’s what makes the shape. Snowflakes, salt, diamonds. Even rocks.
Ch. 2
How big can they get?
How big can they get? Big! Some are buried for millions of years before they’re found.
What Alina Learned
Big. In Mexico’s Naica Cave, gypsum crystals grew bigger than a school bus. They were buried for millions of years.
Ch. 3
Why these shapes?
Every kind of crystal always meets the same way — no matter the size.
Cubic · Hexagonal · Octahedral — same way, every time.
What Alina Learned
Because faces always meet the same way. No matter the size.
Ch. 4
How can they look so different?
Three small rooms — color, shine, and tricks of light. The ways a crystal shows you who it is.
Room 1 · Color
Color from inside
Rhodochrosite
always pink
The color lives in the chemistry.
Color from impurities
Quartz is clear. Tiny extras tint it — amethyst, citrine, rose.
Room 2 · Luster
Tap a swatch to see how the surface catches light.
Room 3 · Transparency & Tricks of Light
Transparent
Light passes straight through.
Translucent
Light passes through, but blurry.
Opaque
Light cannot pass through.
Iridescence
Colors shift as you tilt it.
Asterism
A star pattern inside the stone.
Opalescence
A soft glow that drifts.
Ch. 5
Are they rare? Easy to find?
Gems are rare because they form in very unusual places.
Find the gems hidden in the globe.
What Alina Learned
Every gem has a home.
Ch. 6
Why do we need them?
My six favorite gems. Watch what happens under UV.
Your teeth glow under UV too — they have apatite, like fluorite.
Your teeth glow under UV too — they have apatite, like fluorite.
What Alina Learned
Because they’re beautiful. And fluorite glows under UV — there’s apatite in your teeth too, so your teeth glow.
Sources
Where these stories came from.
World Book Online Kids
Devin Dennie · My Book of Rocks and Minerals
John Farndon · Rocks, Minerals & Gems
— Alina Wallace
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