Glass with embedded metal and sulfides

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/glass-with-embedded-metal-and-sulfides

1. What is the morphology?
2. What is the bulk composition?
3. What are GEMS and why are they called sparkly space pebbles?
4. Where do GEMS come from – are they from other stars or from our solar system?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the morphology?Microscopic spheroids composed of glass with embedded metal and sulfide nanoparticles
2. What is the bulk composition?Approximates chondritic abundances, indicative of primitive solar system material
3. What are GEMS and why are they called sparkly space pebbles?GEMS are tiny glass spheres found in space dust. They look sparkly because they are glassy and round, and scientists study them to learn about the early solar system.
4. Where do GEMS come from – are they from other stars or from our solar system?Scientists think GEMS might have come from other stars before our Sun formed, or they might have formed inside the cloud of gas that became our solar system. They are still trying to decide which one is true.

Chondritic Abundances: Elemental and isotopic ratios similar to those found in primitive chondritic meteorites.
Presolar Grains: Solid particles formed in stars or stellar outflows before the formation of the Sun.
Ionizing Radiation: High-energy radiation capable of removing electrons from atoms and molecules.
Accretion: The process by which smaller particles clump together to form larger bodies.