When small crystals of a mineral join together, they "grow" into larger crystals. You can see how crystals grow by growing some crystals yourself. Here's what you will need: 6 tablespoons of water ...
Flat sides and sharp corners
A chunk of mineral may seem to be just a jagged, lumpy, or twisty piece of hard stuff with no special shape. But each kind of mineral is actually made up of tiny shapes called crystals---shapes that...
Solid stuff
It takes a lot of things to make cookies---flour, milk, eggs, butter, sugar. But when the cookies are baked, you can't see that there are a lot of things in them. Everything is all mixed together. A...
The rock factory
The earth is a rock factory. Scientists believe it has been making rocks for billions of years. The earth makes three different kinds of rocks. One kind is made from hot, syrupy liquids, deep inside...
Rocks, Stones, and Petrified Bones
Rocks, Stones, and Petrified Bones Rocks, Stones, and Petrified Bones
Soil, sand, and dust
> Tiny chips of rock and powdered flower petals. Bits of bats' wings and > birds' feathers. Fragments of dried-up caterpillar skin and pieces of > mouse whiskers. > > That isn't a recipe for a magic...
Icy bulldozers
glacier, Chile Some of the snow on a high mountaintop melts and runs off. But much of it stays all year round. The snow that stays becomes hard and grainy, like salt. As new snow falls each year,...
Lands of ice
Two parts of the earth are bitter cold all year round. These places are the "top" and the "bottom" of the earth---the North Pole and South Pole. The land around the South Pole is called Antarctica....
Land in the water
Explosion after explosion of hot rock and ash spurted from the ocean. A thick cloud of steam rose high into the air. Slowly, for many days, a long mound of dark lava rose up out of the water. An...
Dry lands
> an oasis in the Sahara, Algeria The golden, glowing sun glares down on a vast sea of sand. As far as the eye can see, the sand stretches in great yellow-brown ripples. The air is so hot you can...