Is this a crystal?

Question

Tody we were outside in our backyard and we dug up this thing. It's solid, white, and has many different faces all over. It looks like some type of mineral but i'm not sure. So, yeah.

Answer 1

It can be a mineral....but one can,t be sure just by seeing it.

Although you can focus on sime features like the following:
1)If it seems to be a single crystal, then check for the Geometry.
Geometry is bery useful in crystal determination.
If it is so, it may be hard or brittle. It will have sharp edges...has it so?

It will have a definite colour or throughout its structure.

2) If it feels a bit powdery, then it might be amorphous.


You can test the pH(whether acidic or alkaline?) of the mineral (which it might be!) by adding a bit of it in water and adding turmeric powder. Note the colour change.

_____________ _____________ _____________ ______

The most common minerals (bound to be found in backyard) are QUARTZ, alum etc..

Answer 2

It may be crstalline in its structure since you say it has several faces. The word crystal is normally used to denote a transarent, hard, crystalline substance like quartz, though crystals may be colored and even oaque. Your science teacher may be able to tell you more about it. Many rocks are crystalline.

Answer 3

If light passes through it, it is a crystal If faces on it are uniform it is white crystal. By pendulam method you can confirm it.

Answer 4

It's probably a quartz crystal. Its chemical composition is SiO2

Answer 5

Depends, show it to someone who knows the stuff. It could also be a piece of some sculpture or also broken junk.

Answer 6

it depends on the structure.

go on this website and scroll down to the last page and see if its any of those minerals:
http://emsc32.nysed.gov/osa/reftable/esp10-16.pdf