AY Honors/Sand/Answer Key

1. Make a collection of 30 various colored sands. Correctly label with the name and locality where each was secured.

Sand can be found almost anywhere. Lakes, rivers, beaches, ponds, and even backyards are all places where you can find sand. When you have collected sand from a location, check there again - most places have more than one color of sand.

While collecting, you will need plastic baggies (in which to store the sand), and a permanent marker (to label the baggies). Label each bag with your name, the date, and the location where the sand was found. Be as specific as possible (perhaps recording latitude and longitude if you have a GPS receiver).

Be sure to collect enough sand to share with others. If you are working on this honor with your club, 30 colors should not be very difficult to achieve if everyone collects enough sand for everyone else. You can also trade sand with other Arenophiles (sand collectors) whom you can contact via the Internet:

• http://www.arenophile.com/
• http://www.sand-collecting.org/

Get started, explorer!

2. What does the term "sand" mean? Name two kinds of sand.

Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. As the term is used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 (or 1⁄16 mm) to 2 millimeters. An individual particle in this range size is termed a sand grain.

There are three major types of sand:

Terregenous

This type of sand is eroded from rocks (sedimentary, volcanic, and crystalline), and is generally transported by water. Most sand is of this type.

Carbonate

This type of sand has organic origins, being made from ground sea shells, corals, and other marine sources.

Pyroclastic

This type of sand is created when volcanoes erupt and blow their ash (pyroclastic sand) into the atmosphere.

6. Define the following and give the use of each:

a. Glacial

• Seemingly cold and icy.

b. Calcareous

• resembling or containing calcium carbonate or limestone; chalky

c. Quicksand

• Wet sand that things readily sink in, often found near rivers or coasts

d. Glass sand

• Turning sand into glass.