http://www.theimage.com/
The Image. Click on "mineral gallery". From the mineral list choose quartz.

1. Where does the name "quartz" come from? Click on the enlarged images at the bottom of the page.

2. What are the colors of quartz for images 3 and 4? Go back to the home page and click on "gem gallery" then "Beryl".

3. What are the names for blue and green beryl? Read "Mineral Info" on this page.

4.Which is one of the most valuable gems?

5. What impurities give the color to emerald and aquamarine respectively? Click on the photo of green beryl to see a good picture of emerald (ignore the label "golden beryl").

http://www.man.ac.uk/Geology/MineralWeb/Mineral_Web.html
Mineral Web. After installing "CHIME," use "select a mineral from this index" to get a pull-down menu. Select muscovite, below sheet silicates. The rods represent bonds between atoms. Silicon atoms are brown. What color are oxygen atoms? How many are linked to each silicon atom? (The answer should be readily determinable as you are looking at silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons.) Can you see the sheet structure? How many silica sheets are bonded together by each layer of aluminum atoms (shown in gray)? What is the plane of the cleavage in muscovite relative to the computer's screen (e.g. vertical and parallel to the screen, horizontal and perpendicular to the screen)? Go back to the mineral list and pick olivine under orthosilicates. (Note that you can change the orientation of the structure by clicking and dragging on it.) The silicon atoms are brown, oxygen red, iron and magnesium are green. How many silicon atoms are present? From the chemical formula given, how many iron and magnesium atoms are there for the 4 silicon atoms? Can you see any planes of weakness in the structure that might represent cleavage planes? (none should be visible). How does this figure differ from the olivine structure shown in the chapter on atoms, elements, and minerals of your textbook (figure 2.10 of the 8th edition).

You can look at other minerals from the list. You can also view the silicon-oxygen tetrahedrons listed under "structural elements."

http://galaxy.einet.net/images/gems/gems-icons.html Smithonian Gems and Minerals. Go to this site to see some of the Smithsonian Museum's gems and beautiful mineral specimens. You can see the famous Hope Diamond, gold, sapphire, emerald. Click on the thumbnail image of purple quartz to see quartz' distinctive crystal forms.

http://www.uky.edu/Projects/Chemcomics/ The Comic Book Periodic Table of Elements. This site is not listed in the textbook. It is an entertaining way of learning about the elements. Click on "O" in the periodic table to see how comic books have treated this element. Click on Disney's "Unca Scrooge" as an example. Go back to the periodic table and click on Si. Surprisingly, there are only 2 examples of silicon in the comics, considering how abundant silicon is in rocks. One is a cartoon comparing silicon to silicone (the stuff used in implants), the other is a comic in which "Mr. Element" is the evil guy.