Quartz Has a Characteristic Conchoidal Fracture,yet Rock Shops Often Sell

question 24

Multiple Choice

Quartz has a characteristic conchoidal fracture,yet rock shops often sell quartz as elongate six sided objects with a pointed termination.What causes this shape?

• A)The rock shop cuts them that way with abrasives.The facets are cut to give the crystals more "power" for the crystal people.
• B)The planar faces that form the object are crystal faces that grow when the crystals grew into a void.
• C)Quartz usually is amorphous,consistent with its conchoidal fracture,but when it grows it grows against minerals with planar faces,causing this shape.
• D)You should never buy a crystal like this because it is clearly fake,only artificial crystals grow this way.

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Definitions:

Decaying Carbon Isotope

Radioactive isotopes of carbon that decay over time, often used in radiocarbon dating to determine the age of archaeological finds.

Radiometric Dating

A method used to determine the age of materials such as rocks or carbon, based on the decay rate of radioactive isotopes.

Age of Fossil

The determination of the time period from which a fossil originates, often through radiometric dating.

Radiometric Dating

A method for determining the age of an object based on the decay rate of radioactive isotopes contained within it.