Studying Minerals in General Science

TBear was working on a module about geology in his science this week.  One of the assignments was to study what a mineral looks like in its natural state.  Alum is an easily obtained, pure mineral that you can buy at the grocery store; however, it's sold as a smashed-up powder in a little can.  So, the experiment, then, was to dissolve it in water and let it reform into its natural crystalline structure in order to take a look at it with a magnifying glass to see what it looks like in its natural form. 

First, he dissolved the alum in boiling water, then he poured it into a mason jar.  There was a string with a nut tied to the end of it for the mineral to crystallize on so it could easily be lifted out of the jar.

More alum crystals formed on the bottom of the jar than on the nut, but it was still easy enough to get the crystals off the bottom.

 

After picking a few crystals out of the jar, TBear took a closer look with a magnifying glass.  Rocks are composed of many minerals; because of the mix, they don't look like any particular crystalline form.  The pebbles in the background were to compare what a mix of minerals looks like (a rock) as opposed to a pure mineral (the alum crystal.)

 

He was so fascinated by the cool geometric pattern of the crystals that I pulled out the microscope for him to take an even closer look.

The microscope proved so fascinating that other things were found to look at...such as the wing of a fly that had the misfortune of being swatted on the window.  I never knew there were tiny hairs on a fly's wing.