Other
Scienceviews.com: Minerals and Their Uses
Every segment of society uses minerals and mineral resources everyday. The roads we ride or drive on and the buildings we live learn and work in all contain minerals. Below is a selected list of commonly used metallic and nonmetallic...
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems
Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems offers an opportunity to explore a variety of ores, metals, gems, and other specimens displayed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. This resource offers an excellent collection of photos for...
Other
Minerals Education Coalition: Minerals Database
This resource provides photographs of and information about various minerals.
Jewelry Central
Jewelry Central: Gemstones
This commercial site contains general information on various synthetic and natural gemstones and provides links to specific gems.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Agate Fossil Beds: Geologic Formations
This National Park Service site has information about these fossil beds in Nebraska and where the name Agate came from.
Amethyst Galleries
Amethyst Galleries: Mineral Gallery: Amethyst Purple Variety of Quartz
A detailed description of amethyst, including its physical properties and the more noteworthy locations it is mined.
Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington: Geo Notes: Geodes: One of Nature's Mysteries
Explains what geodes are, how they form, and where they can be found in Indiana.
Indiana University
Indiana University: Reference Documents: Geodes: One of Nature's Mysteries [Pdf]
A fact card describing the properties and characteristics of geodes, where they can be found, and how they may have formed.
Utah State Office of Education
Utah State Office of Education: Identifying and Classifying Minerals
This thorough Utah State Office of Education site explains the criteria for identifying minerals and provides pictures of various minerals.
Other
The Happy Scientist: Minerals
Overview of minerals with definitions, how to identify them, what they are used for, and crystals.
MadSci Network
The Mad Scientist Network: Chemistry
Using a question and answer format, this page addresses the question: "What effect may crystallization have on the optical properties of a material?" Crystalline and amorphous solids are compared and contrasted; their properties are...
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: Stuff to Do: Grow Rock Candy
Learn about the crystal patterns and shapes of select minerals (diamond, quartz, muscovite, and topaz) and how to grow your own rock candy crystals.
San Diego Natural History Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum: Mineral Matters: Color
Don't be fooled! While color is one way to identify a mineral, it can often be misleading. Quartz is one example of a mineral that can change colors depending on its chemical make-up.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Amethyst
Wikipedia provides a general overview of the ornamental stone, the amethyst. Content includes a focus on its physical characteristics, history, and role in folklore.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Jasper From Wikipedia
This site has a concise definition of jasper along with pictures and connections to related sites.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Cement
Wikipedia provides this encyclopedia entry for cement that features its history, production, and use as a building material, as well as links to related topics.
How Stuff Works
How Stuff Works: How Quartz Watches Work
This article helps you undersatnd how the quartz watch functions. You will learn all about the amazing electronic phenomenon called the quartz crystal and how it forms the heart of a quartz watch!
Other
Icga: Agate, Stripe Up the Bands
An interesting, brief discussion of the gem and mineral agate, including its physical properties and historical uses.
Curated OER
The image.com: Minerals
This is a very large list of minerals complete with image and physical descriptions, chemical descriptions, and classification.