TED-Ed: How do crystals work? - Graham Baird

The video explores the formation and growth of crystals, starting with magma beneath Yellowstone. It explains how crystals form from minerals and the atomic structures that define their shapes. The video discusses the six families of crystalline structures and how environmental conditions affect crystal growth. It highlights specific examples like galena and quartz, and how diamonds form under different conditions. The video concludes with the applications of crystals in material science and medicine.

What drives groundwater towards the surface in the Yellowstone caldera?

• The movement of magma

• The gravitational pull of the moon

• The heat from young, hot igneous rocks

• The pressure from tectonic plates

Which of the following is NOT a family of crystalline structures?

• Cubic

• Tetragonal

• Pentagonal

• Hexagonal

What determines the shape a diamond grows into?

• The environmental conditions like pressure and temperature

• The depth at which it forms

• The presence of other minerals

• The amount of carbon present

Why doesn't glass have a crystalline structure?

• It is made from a different type of sand

• It cools too quickly for atoms to arrange in an ordered structure

• It is formed under high pressure

• It is composed of non-crystalline minerals

What is a reason some crystals do not form geometric shapes?

• They are exposed to high temperatures

• They are made of amorphous materials

• They grow in close quarters with other crystals

• They are too small to be seen