Which Mineral is Which? - Standards

Understandings About Scientific Inquiry

Different kinds of questions suggest different kinds of scientific investigations. Some investigations involve observing and describing objects, organisms, or events; some involve collecting specimens; some involve experiments; some involve seeking more information; some involve discovery of new objects and phenomena; and some involve making models.

Technology used to gather data enhances accuracy and allows scientists to analyze and quantify results of investigations.

Scientific explanations emphasize evidence, have logically consistent arguments, and use scientific principles, models, and theories. The scientific community accepts and uses such explanations until displaced by better scientific ones. When such displacement occurs, science advances.

Properties and Changes of Properties in Matter

A substance has characteristic properties, such as density, a boiling point, and solubility, all of which are independent on the amount of the sample. A mixture of substances often can be separated into the original substances using one or more of the characteristic properties.