A World of Light and Color
Activity 27
Identification of Minerals using UV Light
Procedure and Results Sheet (No Prediction Sheet)
Key Questions:


Can you use UV light to identify minerals and rocks?
Will a mineral or rock fluoresce differently for long and short wavelength UV light?
Materials:


Tray of 15 geological rocks (1)
UV light source for long and short UV (1)
Procedure:
1. This activity is designed to be fun!! So, enjoy yourself!!
2. Geologists often use UV lamps to identify minerals. You are given a set of 15 minerals and
some of their characteristics under visible light, under short-wavelength UV light, and under
long-wavelength UV light. Your job is to identify which mineral is which!
3. You can simply slide the base of the UV lamp to switch it from long to short wavelength.
4.
THERE ARE NATURAL VARIATIONS IN THE COLOR OF THE ROCKS!
Some of the rocks will
not match perfectly with the list, and you must find them by ruling out everything else!
NAME
APPEARANCE UNDER
SHORT UV
CALCITE
(Montana)
APPEARANCE UNDER APPEARANCE
LONG UV
UNDER SUNLIGHT
Pink To Cream
Crystalline White
OPALITE
(New Mexico)
Green
Soft White
CALCITE
(New Jersey)
Deep Red
Crystalline Gray
HACMANITE
ARAGONITE
(Wyoming)
Orange
Cream
SELENITE
(Texas)
CHALCEDONY-2
(Nebraska)
Gravel-Like
Yellow-Brown
Orange
Green
Crystalline Brown
Brownish
27.1
IT IS
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A World of Light and Color
Activity 27
Identification of Minerals using UV Light
Procedure and Results Sheet (No Prediction Sheet)
NAME
WILLEMITECALCITE
(New Jersey)
SCAPOLITE
(South Dakota)
APPEARANCE UNDER
SHORT UV
Green-Red
Pink With Black
Spots
Deep Red
Gravel-Like
CHALCEDONY-1
APATITE
(South Dakota)
APPEARANCE UNDER APPEARANCE
LONG UV
UNDER SUNLIGHT
Orange To Cream
Gravel-Like
Blue
Milky White
Pink-Cream
Dark Brown
Orange
FLUORITE
(Utah)
AGATE
(Wyoming)
Cream
FOSSIL ALGAE
(Wyoming)
Cream
RESINOUS COAL
(Colorado)
Blue-White
Dark Brown
Yellow-White
27.2
Black
IT IS
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