What does sand look like under a microscope?

Gary Greenberg uses 3D microscopes to inspect the diversity of sand grains.

Vocabulary: sediments, microscopy, sand, crystals, biological sand

Next Generation Science Standards: ESS2.A: Earth’s Materials and Systems, ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes, SEP 4: Analyze and Interpret Data, and CC1: Patterns. Can be used to build towards MS-ESS2–3 and MS-ESS2–1.

Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6–8.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9–10.4, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11–12.4

Sand found in Calumet, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The pistachio-green grain in the center is epidote, and its blue-green neighbor is diopside. The rounded grain right-of-center is colored pink with copper. The clear grains are quartz; some are incredibly rounded. Magnified 125 times. Credit: Gary Greenberg/The Secrets of Sand

Gary Greenberg uses 3D microscopes to inspect the diversity of sand grains. Retired biologist Gary Greenberg doesn’t receive the regular letter or postcard in the mail from his fans or friends. “I have thousands of bottles of sand that people have sent me,” Greenberg says.

Read the article here.

Questions for Students

• What do you notice about the sand in the first image? Talk about the color, shape, size, and arrangement of the sediments. Do you notice any patterns among the different grains?
• Why are there such big differences in sand from different locations around the world?
• What does the presence of calcium carbonate indicate?
• How do the shape of the different particles of sand tell a story about erosion and weathering?
• Compare the picture of the moon sand grain to the other sand images. Explain why they are so different.

Activity Ideas

• Have students bring in sand/sediments from local areas and look at them with hand lenses or dissecting scopes. Have them note the qualities of the different sediments. What are the colors? What are the shapes? Are the edges sharp or round? Is the mixture homogeneous or heterogeneous?
• Look through the sand samples in the Oregon State University Coastal Imaging Lab Sand Collection Quiz. Discuss how different properties and components of sand tell a story about the area. You can also look in the Sand Atlas for inspiration.