Mon Prof Augmenté
Mantle, Crust and Gems
Open to everyone until Wednesday, September 30
To keep it, print it while it is open.
Earth’s mantle is extremely hot and squeezed under enormous pressure, while the crust above it is cooler and made of different chemicals. Those differing conditions grow different crystals, and eruptions or shifting crust can carry them up to the surface.
In the picture
- A crystal held in hot, high-pressure mantle rock
- A vein of coloured crystals in cooler crust rock
- A volcanic conduit carrying mantle material to the surface
- Opposing arrows along a fracture, with the crust moving in two directions
Examples
- A diamond in a ring: it grew deep in the mantle and rode up inside a volcanic pipe.
- Amethyst crystals lining a hollow space in cooled lava.
Key takeaways
- Mantle heat and pressure grow minerals that the cooler crust cannot.
- Eruptions and moving crust carry buried crystals upward.
Carry on in the app
Three questions on this lesson, to check the idea stuck. Free in the app while the lesson is in the free week.
At least one new illustrated lesson every weekday for your child’s year, with its quiz and a reminder at 6:15 pm.
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