Making Minerals

1
Making Minerals

• Activity 23

2
What did learning about rocks and the fact that
rocks are made of minerals tell you about how
some minerals are formed?

• Minerals are formed as a result of the same
  processes as rocks Heat and pressure!
• Some minerals are more rare than others and are
  more valuable.
• Diamond is a mineral that is commonly found in
  kimberlite, an igneous rock.

3
What are you going to do today?

• Were going to read pages B-50 to 52, Mined and
  Manufactured Diamonds.
• What do you think this article is going to be
  about?
• What kinds of information do you think will be
  included?
• Lets read the first paragraph together

4
Mined and Manufactured Diamonds

• Imagine Russian scientists renting rooms so they
  can have a place to make large diamonds. Or a
  Gem Defense Program in England that looks for
  ways to distinguish large diamonds mined from the
  earth from those made in labs. Maybe the Gem
  Defense lab invents machines that can be used to
  tell these diamonds apart. Or uses lasers to
  label mined diamonds with the company name and
  logo. Sounds like fiction? Its all true.

5
Did that paragraph sound like James Bond?

• All those things were true.
• Continue reading but be ready to answer these
  questions
• What are some materials that resemble diamonds
  but are just look-alikes?
• Glass, plastic, cubic zirconnia, and moissanite.
• What was the first company that discovered a way
  to make diamonds? When did they make this
  discover?
• General Electric in the 1950s

6
More questions about the reading

• What did the scientists at GE combine to make
  diamonds?
• Carbon and graphite, like the lead in a pencil
• How long would it take to manufacture a 3-carat
  yellow diamond?
• 3 days!
• Who is the worlds leading seller of mined
  diamonds?
• DeBeers LV.

7
More questions from the reading

• When you compare the properties of mined diamonds
  to those of manufactured diamonds on the chart on
  page B52, look at these properties Color,
  transparency, luster, crystal shape, and
  hardness. What differences do you see between
  the manufactured and mined diamonds?
• Could you tell the two diamonds apart?

8
Gem Defense Program

• DeBeers LV developed this program to detect
  manufactured diamonds. Since all of the usual
  visual ways of telling diamonds apart wont help,
  they came up with a new way to tell the diamonds
  apart. What is it?
• Sine a special short-wave ultraviolet light on
  the diamond. If its a mined diamond, nothing
  happens. If its a manufactured diamond, it will
  glow in the dark for 3-5 seconds!

9
Cost

• What causes different colors in mined diamonds?
• Impurities. For example, yellow diamonds contain
  the chemical nitrogen.
• What would a diamond be if its the most
  expensive diamond?
• Absolutely colorless
• The ones with colors, though, are rare and
  therefore very expensive.

10
The Gemesis Company Diamond

• This Florida company manufactures diamonds. They
  make big yellow diamonds. They sell their yellow
  diamonds for 4,800 per carat and a mined yellow
  diamond costs 7,800 per carat.
• Hey, how big is a carat? Look in your packet for
  a glimpse at sizes on page 54 of your science
  journal.

11
Now that weve read the entire article, its time
to jigsaw.

• Each member of your group has to assume the role
  of one of the players
• Simon, who is planning to buy a ring containing a
  large diamond.
• Anna, who owns a company that sells mined
  diamonds.
• Kendra, who owns a company that makes
  manufactured diamonds.
• Mo, who is a geologist with the U.S. Forest
  Service

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Once we begin, all the people who play each role
will work together to answer the questions.

• You need to think how the person you are
  representing would think. You might not agree
  with they way your role thinks, but you have to
  understand their perspective.
• For example If you were a MSU fan being asked
  to play the role of a UM fan, youd have to think
  like a UM fan. Youd wear blue and yellow, youd
  sing, Hail to the Victors, youd be satisfied
  with not playing in a football bowl game.

13
How do you determine value of a diamond?

• Beauty
• Rarity
• Environmental impact
• Size of the diamond
• Color of the diamond
• Are there more ways?
• Do you think one of these ideas is more important
  than the others?
• Do you think everyone will agree with the way you
  pick to value a diamond?

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Time to jigsaw

• Simons go to table 1
• Annas go to table 3
• Kendras go to table 4
• Mos go to table 6
• Youve got ten minutes to figure out what your
  character would feel about the questions on page
  48-49 of your science journal.

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Times Up Now go back to your table

• Present each roles ideas about the value of
  diamonds. Keep track of who said what on page 51
  of your science journal.
• After youve heard from every one, now its time
  to combine the ideas on page 50 of your science
  journal.
• Done with that? Finish the Analysis Questions.