Minerals are used to make everything from the starting blocks to the medals, from the sports equipment to the venues, from the torch to the timing devices.
Allsport
The information and activities have been designed to allow students to learn about the science and technology behind the Olympics. The activities use minerals as a focus and are great for classroom use. Information can be found within this site or through website addresses provided. It's that easy!
Within each topic there will be references to minerals and metals and alloys. These have links to specific Rock Files. These definitions will help you get started.
Metal: Generally shiny in appearance, able to be bent and rolled into different shapes, and a good conductor of heat and electricity. Usually extracted from a mineral, although some can be found as pure elements, such as gold.
Mineral: Generally crystalline substance with a definite structure and known composition. Rocks are made up of one or more types of minerals. Minerals are generally mined for the metals they contain. For example, the mineral haematite (Fe3SO4) is mined for the metal iron (Fe).
Alloy: A mixture of two or more metals.
Metals and minerals appear throughout and when selected will take you to a Rock File for information on -
- How and where the mineral is mined
- Its properties
- Its uses
- Amazing facts and figures