Iron+Pyrite

Iron Pyrite PASSAGE FOUR

Questions 18 through 23. Listen to a discussion by some students taking a geology class.

OK. So, the next type of mineral we need to talk about is iron pyrite. Iron pyrite? Isn't that what's also called fool's gold? Yes, it is. Why is iron pyrite called fool's gold? It's called fool's gold because it can look sort of like gold, and sometimes people who found iron pyrite thought they'd found gold. So iron pyrite kind of looks like gold? What exactly does it look like? It can be shiny golden in color, but its crystals have a different shape from, from golden crystals. Iron pyrite crystals are cubical in shape. Crystals of gold aren't. How does iron pyrite get its shiny golden color if it's not gold? I know the answer to that .... Iron pyrite gets its shiny golden color from the mix of elements in it, the elements it contains. Iron pyrite's made from a mix of elements? Yes, iron pyrite's a compound of iron and sulfur, so it's very different from gold because it's made of this compound. And it's also quite different from gold in how it reacts to heat. Iron pyrite Why? What happens when iron pyrite's heated? When iron pyrite's heated, it smokes and develops a strong, uh, an awful odor. And gold doesn't have that kind of reaction to heat? No, it doesn't. Do you know where the name "pyrite" came from? I think I know that. It came from the Greek word for fire, didn't it? Yes, it did. If you strike iron pyrite with metal, then it produces sparks. Some ancient cultures used to use iron pyrite to start fires. They couldn't have used gold that way. So iron pyrite did have some use, even if it really wasn't gold. 18. IN WHATWAYIS IRON PYRITE SIMILAR TO GOLD? 19. WHY IS IRON PYRITE CALLEDFOOL'S GOLD? 20. WHATIS IRON PYRITE COMPOSED OF? 21. HOW DOES IRON PYRITE REACTTO HEAT? 22. WHERE DID THE WORD "PYRITE" COME FROM? 23. HOW DID SOME ANCIENT CULTURESUSE IRON PYRITE?