Name ___________________________Section _________ Date __________
Winter Break Assignment
Due 6B, 6D
6A, 6C, 6E
Tues 1/5/16
Mon 1/4/16
Part 1
Please answer the following questions from the book:
On pg 171…
Critical Thinking #1-2:
1. Natural gas is a substance that occurs naturally in the earth's crust. Is it a mineral? Explain how you
know.
2. Which of the following are you most likely to find in the earth's crust: the silicates feldspar and quartz
or the nonsilicates copper and iron? Explain your answer.
Application #1:
1. Why is it difficult to identify a mineral simply by its color?
PART 2
Use the links below to read the following three short articles and answer the questions on the
following page. I have also copy and pasted the articles below in case you have trouble accessing the
websites.
 Article #1: Earth’s most common mineral finally gets a name
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/earths-most-common-mineral-finally-gets-name
 Article #2: New Mineral Hints at Livable Mars
http://www.livescience.com/47478-new-mineral-suggests-livable-mars.html
 Article #3: Real Mineral Nearly Identical to Superman's Kryptonite
http://www.livescience.com/1467-real-mineral-identical-superman-kryptonite.html
Article Questions:
1. Using statements from Article #1 to support your answer, why did it take so long to name this new
mineral if it is so common on Earth?
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2. In Paragraph 2 of Article #1 it states that this new mineral is “a very dense form of magnesium iron
silicate.” What does it mean when a mineral is considered to be part of the “silicate” group?
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3. According to Article #2, what did scientists find on Mars? Where did they find it?
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4. Using statements from Article #2 to support your answer, what do these new findings suggest about
the environment on Mars?
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5. In light of these new findings from Article #2, do you think we are currently prepared to take the risk
of sending a manned exploration team to Mars? Why or why not?
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6. Using evidence from Article #3, what property of the mineral did Chris Stanley use to help him
identify it?
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7. According to Article #3, why were scientists not allowed to name this new mineral “kryptonite”?
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Article #1 Article #1 Article #1 Article #1 Article #1
Earth’s most common mineral finally
gets a name
Bridgmanite, long sought, now found — in an 1879 meteorite
BY THOMAS SUMNER
11:00AM, DECEMBER 7, 2014
Part of this sample of a meteorite that crashed into Australia 135 years ago contains
bridgmanite. This newly named material also is the most common mineral on Earth.
O. TSCHAUNER ET AL/SCIENCE 2014
A rock that fell from space 135 years ago has just helped scientists finally name Earth’s
most common mineral. It's being called bridgmanite
A very dense form of magnesium iron silicate, this mineral makes up about 38 percent
of Earth’s volume. Its name honors the late Percy Bridgman. He won a Nobel Prize in
1946 for his study of the physics of materials at very high pressures.
Bridgmanite may be common but it has remained out of the reach of scientists. The
reason: This mineral forms at the high pressures found at depths of 660 to 2,900
kilometers (410 to 1,802 miles) beneath Earth’s surface. Samples could never survive
the long trip up.
Scientists had known for decades that the mineral exists. It made itself known by the
way it altered earthquake vibrations as they traveled through Earth’s interior. Yet without
a natural sample to hold and to study, experts could not give it an official name.
Mineralogist Oliver Tschauner works at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His
research team now reports finding bridgmanite inside a meteorite. The space rock
slammed into a remote part of Queensland, Australia, in 1879. The powerful impact
created tremendously high temperatures and pressures. The same conditions exist
deep inside Earth, where bridgmanite forms. The researchers report details of their
observations in the November 28 Science.
The newfound bridgmanite should help scientists better understand how mass and heat
flow within Earth’s mantle. That’s the rocky layer surrounding our planet’s core.
Power Words
core (in geology) Earth’s innermost layer.
mantle (in geology) The thick layer of the Earth beneath its outer crust. The mantle is
semi-solid and generally divided into an upper and lower mantle.
mass A number that shows how much an object resists speeding up and slowing down
— basically a measure of how much matter that object is made from.
meteor A lump of rock or metal from space that hits the atmosphere of Earth. In space
it is known as a meteoroid. When you see it in the sky it is a meteor. And when it hits
the ground it is called a meteorite.
mineral The crystal-forming substances, such as quartz, apatite, or various
carbonates, that make up rock. Most rocks contain several different minerals mishmashed together. A mineral usually is solid and stable at room temperatures and has a
specific formula, or recipe (with atoms occurring in certain proportions) and a specific
crystalline structure (meaning that its atoms are organized in certain regular threedimensional patterns). (in physiology) The same chemicals that are needed by the body
to make and feed tissues to maintain health.
silicate A mineral containing silicon atoms and usually oxygen atoms. The majority of
Earth’s crust is made of silicate minerals.
Article #2 Article #2 Article #2 Article #2 Article #2
New Mineral Hints at Livable Mars
By Becky Oskin, Senior Writer | August 21, 2014 09:31am ET
A thin slice of the Nakhla meteorite.
A tiny, clay-filled bubble found in a Martian meteorite boosts the chances that Mars was
habitable for life, according to a new study.
While scientists have not yet found proof that life exists onMars, NASA's Curiosity rover
has found evidence that the planet could have supported life in the past. Clay
minerals discovered by the rover suggest liquid water, in rivers, lakes and streams,
once flowed on Mars' surface.
The new study also discovered evidence for clay minerals on Mars, but the clues come
from a Martian meteorite that fell in Egypt in 1911. [See Images of Martian Meteorites]
The Nakhla meteorite, named for its landing site, was launched from the surface of
Mars 1.3 billion years ago. In crevices in the rock, minerals and sediments from Mars
hitched a ride to Earth. These minerals provide clues to conditions on Mars in the
planet's past. For example, clay minerals indicate the presence of water.
The results of the new study hinge on a newly identified, oval-shaped void filled with
iron-rich clay. The ovoid resembles fossil bacteria, but the researchers conclude that the
hollow didn't arise from biological materials. Instead, it's probably the result of geologic
processes, such as water percolating through the rock.
The bubble is filled with several kinds of clay, including smectites, iron oxides and iron
sulfides. A similar suite of clays was discovered by the Curiosity Rover, the authors
note.
The findings were published July 21 in the journal Astrobiology.
In 2006, a separate study reported that microscopic tunnels in the Nakhla meteorite
mimic the size and shape of tunnels left by bacteria on Earth when they burrow through
rock. These features seem to have formed before the rock was blasted off the Red
Planet.
Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow
us @livescience,Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Article #3 Article #3 Article #3 Article #3 Article #3
Real Mineral Nearly Identical to Superman's
Kryptonite
Bill Christensen | January 11, 2008 06:44am ET
Chris Stanley, a minerologist at London's Natural History Museum, was puzzled when mining
Group Rio Tinto brought him an unusual specimen.
Discovered in a mine near Jadar, Serbia, the mineral had a known chemical formula—sodium
lithium boron silicate hydroxide. Using his own expertise and specialized resources , Stanley
was unable to identify the mineral. Finally, he did what the rest of us would have done at the
start—he searched for the formula on the Internet . And got lots of hits.
It turns out that this mineral had already been described—in Superman comic books and
movies. The formula is an exact match for Kryptonite, the fictional mineral. Kryptonite, according
to DC Comics, was created when the planet Krypton blew up. Stanley explains:
"Towards the end of my research I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula—
sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide—and was amazed to discover that same scientific
name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in
the film Superman Returns. "The new mineral does not contain fluorine (which it does in the
film) and is white rather than green but, in all other respects, the chemistry matches that for the
rock containing kryptonite."
As true fans know, green kryptonite is the most common variety, taking away Superman's
powers and eventually killing him. Quick to spot a good plot device ("technovelgy"), writers soon
introduced variations like gold, red, white and blue kryptonite. The worst of these is gold
kryptonite, which removes Superman's powers permanently.
Real "kryptonite" (that is, sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide) is not a scary, glowing
mineral; rather, it is a boring-looking white, harmless substance. Dr. Stanley hastens to add,
however, that it fluoresces a pinkish-orange under ultraviolet light.
Scientists are not allowed to use the name "Kryptonite" for the mineral owing to their insistence
on following the stodgy, dusty international nomenclature rules that note that "krypton" is a
real element . They will call it "jadarite" instead, after the town near the mine where it was
found.