Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
SECTION TITLE OPENING The Letter HOOK GROUP SIZE Everyone
MATERIALS 
Print out of Raven’s Letter 



streakplates
beaker
water
densitycube
set
moh’s
hardnessscale
magnifying
glasses
pyrite
samples
(thesearea
few“gold
pieces”from
bear’s
treasure
chest)
Raven’sletter
Laminated
Datacharts(1
per2or3
campers)
Laminated
Unknown
chart(1per2
or3campers)



PART 1 Identification 2‐3 



“Gold” sample 
Drywipe
markers(1
per2or3
campers)
Large
novelty
calculator
Printout
imageof
Fool’sGold
scale(oneor
oneper2or
3campers)
Apatite
sample
Calcite
sample
Fluorite
sample
quartz
sample Goldflakes
frompanning
kits 







Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 1
Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
Safety Considerations The following controls are in place to ensure safety during this activity: o Instructors will participate in Safety Training o Instructors will review camp rules with participants prior to commencing the activity o Instructors will advise on the appropriate use of materials Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes Developed Skills 


Knowledge Areas collaboration and teamwork, critical thinking, problem solving 


applications of STEM,
integration of different types of knowledge, the scientific method, Attitudes 


comfort with uncertainty, confidence, curiosity, In this activity, trickster Raven sends a letter to science campers (knowing they are newly trained in rock & mineral identification) asking for their help in solving a mystery. Are the shiny rocks he stole true gold, or did he get the decoy chest full of pyrite? Campers develop critical thinking skills as they apply the variety of identification tests they practiced in earlier activities (hardness, density, streak tests, and more) to identify the mysterious rock samples Raven sent along. Big Ideas Amateurs sometimes mistake chalcopyrite or pyrite for gold because of its brassy colour, hence the term “fool’s gold.” Pyrite generally forms cubic crystals and, on a fresh surface, is closer in colour to “white gold” or electrum, an alloy of gold and silver, than to pure gold. However, pyrite is much harder than gold. Eyewitness‐ Rocks and Minerals In this activity, we are introduced to Raven. He has enlisted this brainy bunch of campers to help solve a mystery…is the treasure he stole from Polar Bear truly gold? Or was he duped into taking a chest of Fool’s Gold? A message from Raven presenting the mystery, and the data tables with identifying information for gold, and pyrite (the infamous “Fool’s Gold”) should provide all the clues you need to find the answer. Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 2
Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
Pyrite Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 3
Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
Opening Hook: 5 Minutes DearScienceCampers,
Apolarbearroamsnoman’sland;hergoldvaulttemptsthepuresthand.
Isoaredtheskiestofinditout,fordaysandweeksasearchedabout.
AtlastanisleforlornIfound,wherepawprintsmarkedtheicyground.
Hercavewastherewithlootpiledhighthoughonlygoldcouldcoaxmyeye.
Gold!Ohgold!Thespoilswerethere…butwhyTWOchestsinbear’scoldlair?
Icouldnottakeboth,I’dsinklikelead!SoIchosemychestatchanceinstead.
ButonceI’dleftIthoughtwithgall…perhapsonewasnotgoldatall!
BeIabrilliantbirdwithpluckandcluck,or’dsheoutwitthissillyschmuck?
Raven
Activity 1: Identification – 30‐45 minutes Raven is a sly fellow, and there are fewer things he loves more than shiny treasure. In this mystery, Raven has tasked us with determining whether he was fooled by polar bear. Did he choose the decoy treasure chest, or the real one? He knows the science campers are a clever bunch! Along with the letter, Raven left several rock samples from the treasure chest he picked. We can use these in our analysis. Procedure During: 1. Show the campers the print‐out of Fool’s Gold. What metal do they think this might be a picture of? If they said gold, it was a good guess. This is actually a picture of pyrite, commonly known as “Fool’s Gold.” It may look flashy, but it is not nearly as valuable as real gold. Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 4
Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
2. Read the letter over with the campers. What can we use from the rock identification methods we learned about earlier in the day to identify our rock samples? How can we determine if our rock samples are real gold or Fool’s gold? 3. Separate the campers into groups of three. Give each group an information card on both minerals, a blank card, and a dry erase marker. If most of the campers are too young to read or write you can omit the written tools and guide the groups verbally. 4. Hand out testing supplies. Each group requires a magnifying glass, flask, a cup of water, streak plate, a soft rock sample (must be harder than gold, but softer than pyrite…see suggestions in the materials list), quartz sample. Test 1: General Observations 1. Using the magnifying classes, campers may observe their pyrite samples. Do they notice any patterns on the rock? Remember, pyrite generally has a cubic crystal structure (boxy in shape). Gold can be cubic as well, so it is not necessarily a distinguishing feature, but may help us to confirm we are on the right track. Test 2: Moh’s Hardness 1. Pyrite has a hardness of 6‐6.5. According to Moh’s hardness scale, both gold and pyrite can be scratched by quartz (hardness 7). See if our samples are softer than quartz by scratching them with the quartz sample. 2. If our sample is gold, it will be scratched by a rock that is harder than 2.5 (gold’s hardness). To see if we have a sample of gold, try scratching it with apatite, fluorite or calcite. Campers can check their analysis by scratching with each rock species. ‐3. None of these rocks (apatite, fluorite, or calcite) should leave a scratch. Ask the campers what this result means? What other test can we try? Test 3: Streak Test 1. Scratch the mystery sample on the streak plate. What colour results? How does this compare to our data? Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 5
Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
Modifications/Extensions Test 4 (challenge): Density Note: This test is optional. Can be done with mature or advanced groups. 1. Density is a material’s mass per unit volume (g/mL). To determine the density of a material, simply divide the mass by the unit of volume. Using the scale, density cubes (should have a set volume) and the calculator, you can demonstrate how to determine the density of a material. But what about materials with irregular shapes? The first task for irregular shaped materials is to determine the volume. This can be done using the change in volume when the object is placed in water. 2. Direct campers to pour the cup of water (or some of the water) into their beaker. What is the starting volume? Write this number down, or remember it for later. 3. Add the rock sample. By how many mL did the water level increase? This is the volume of the rock. Make sure there aren’t any air bubbles stuck to the sample! 4. Dry off the rock and measure the mass on the scale. The density for this sample can now be calculated. The instructors can also take an average of all the densities for a more accurate representation of the density. 5. How does the density of the sample compare to the information on Gold and Pyrite? PyriteDataTable:
Pyrite
Category
Colour
Crystal Habit
Moh’s Hardness Scale
Density
Solubility
Streak
SulphideMineral(FeS2)
PaleYellow
Cubic
6‐6.5
4.8‐5g/cm3
Insolubleinwater
Greenishblack‐BrownishBlack
Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 6
Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
GoldDataTable:
Gold
Pure Element (Au)
Category
Yellow
Colour
Cubic (often)
Crystal Habit
2.5
Moh’s Hardness Scale
19.3 g/cm3
Density
Insoluble in water
Solubility
Yellow
Streak
ObservationChart:
Mystery Mineral
Category
Unknown
Colour
Crystal Habit
Moh’s Hardness Scale
Density
Dissolves in Water?
Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 7
Raven’s Fool’s Gold Mystery
Streak
Check for Understanding Did Raven get the chest of gold, or just the decoy? What are some ways in which gold and pyrite are similar? What are some ways in which they are different? Show the campers the gold flakes from the panning activity kit to help them get a sense of this. Suggested Reflection/Debrief Activity: What other science jobs can campers think of that involve using tests to solve mysteries (eg. Analytical chemist, lab technician, epidemiologist)? How could Raven have used his critical thinking skills to make a better choice in Polar Bear’s lair? How have campers used similar critical thinking skills to solve mysteries in their lives? Career Connections: 
Geologist 
Jeweller 
Museum curator 
Analytical chemist 
Forensic scientist 
Epidemiologist 
Health lab technician Tuesday: Fool’s Gold Mystery
Page 8