MINERAL
PROPERTIES VS STRUCTURE: Diamonds and graphite are both
made of carbon atoms, yet they have totally different properties.
This is the classic mineral example that teachers use to stress the
importance of mineral structure. I found the easiest way to drive
home thiis point is to bring in some lego building pieces. Count
out 16 blocks that are exactly the same shape and color. Give 8 to
one student, and 8 to another. Ask them to build 'something'. When
they are done, show them to rest of the class. Ask them why, if these
two students started with the 'same stuff', they turned out so different.
Of course the answer is obvious to everyone, the way they were put
together
Chris Visco
SIMULATED
METAMORPHISM:
Take a granola bar and examine the bar "before metamorphism" by
cutting off one end of the bar and describing the noted grain orientation.
The bar is then placed between two sheets of waxed paper and then
between two pieces of plywood. Clamps are applied at three points,
and pressure is applied evenly by turning each clamp a turn at
a time until they cannot be turned BY HAND any further. At this
point
the clamps are removed and the bar reexamined.