Introduction

Soon it will be your mother's birthday, and you have decided to buy her a birthstone ring. You know your mother's birthstone is an emerald because she was born in May. When you visit a jewelry store, you discover a vast assortment of emerald rings. Some of the emeralds are set in gold, some in silver. Many of the emeralds have a deep and clear green color, while others have more interesting cuts that make the stone sparkle. You also notice that some of the rings are in your price range, whereas others are so expensive you do not even ask to have them taken out of the case. When you ask a salesperson why there is such a difference in emerald prices, she replies that the less expensive emeralds were created in the laboratory. How can you create an emerald in a laboratory? Why are natural emeralds and other gemstones so expensive? Why do some of the emeralds have a deeper green color? In this WebQuest you'll find out the answers to these questions as you do some research into the nature of the minerals called gemstones.

The Quest

Your job in this WebQuest is to decide whether a gemstone created in a laboratory is the same as a gemstone that occurs naturally. You will have to find out how natural gemstones form and what their chemical, physical, and optical properties are. You will find out how natural gemstones are treated to correct their flaws or bring out their colors. You will find out the different processes used to create gemstones in a laboratory. Then you will have to compare the price and properties of created gemstones to those of naturally occuring gemstones and decide if created gemstones are the same as their natural counterparts.

Once you've done your research, you will make a decision about what kind of ring to buy your mother. You will have to prepare a statement in which you give your reasons for your choice. You must be able to justify the amount of money you plan to spend on the birthstone ring. Your goal is to choose a beautiful emerald ring that will retain its value for a long time to come.

In this WebQuest you will explore Webpages from people all over the world. Because these are real Webpages we're tapping into, not things made just for schools, the reading level might challenge you. Feel free to use the online Webster dictionary or one in your classroom.

The Process and Resources

Phase 1 - Background: Something for Everyone

Objectives:

Describe the geologic processes that result in the formation of natural gemstones.

Summarize how and why natural gemstones are subjected to chemical or physical treatments.

Compare the chemical composition of created gemstones with those of natural gemstones.

Phase 2 - Looking Deeper from Different Perspectives

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Individuals will explore the links below.

2. Read through the files. As you look at the files on the computer, copy sections you feel are important by dragging the mouse across the passage and copying and pasting it into a Word document. Save it to SMSlabwork under the Thompson folder on the network.

3. Note: Remember to write down or copy/paste the URL of the file you take the passage from so you can quickly go back to it if you need to to prove your point.

Questions 1 and 2

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the question below:

1. What are natural gemstones and how do they form?

2. How are natural gemstones treated to reveal color or eliminate flaws?

• Crystals: More than meets the eye - Here you can learn more about how natural gemstones form and where they can be found.
• A Primer of Gemstones - This site includes a general guide to natural gemstones. Click on the word properties in the first paragraph for more information.
• Jewlery-4u.com - This site gives examples of treatments used to enhance or eliminate flaws in turquoise.
• Trapp Gemological Services - On this site there is a list of enhancements used in gemstones.
• Emerald Education - Look here for some general information about emeralds physical properties.
• Natural Gemstones - Search here for information on gemstone formation.

Questions 3 and 4

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the question below:

3. What are the chemical, physical and optical properties of natural gemstones?

4. What are the chemical, physical and optical properties of created gemstones?

• Electronic Gemstone Library - This site is a source for information on natural gemstones and their properties.
• Properties of Emeralds - At this site you can read more about the properties of natural emeralds.
• Created Gemstones - This is the web site for the Chatham Company. Carroll Chatham discovered how to create emeralds in a laboratory setting in 1938. Explore this site to find our when different gemstones were created in laboratories.
• Lab Created Gemstones - This site provides clarification of the properties of lab created gemstones.

Question 5

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the questions below:

5. How are gemstones created in the laboratory?

• Russian Colored Stone Company: Created Gems - At this site you can find out more about the gemstones created recently in laboratories in Russia and neighboring countries.
• Geolite Gems and Jewelry - Visit this site to see how emeralds are grown by the hydrothermal method.
• USGS -- Synthetic and Simulant Gemstones - Search this site for information about the formation of created gemstones.

Question 6

Use the Internet information linked below to answer the question below:

6. How do the prices of natural and created gemstones compare?

• Emerald Jewelry - This site gives price for natural and lab-created emeralds, topaz, amethysts, sapphires and rubies.
• Natural Emerald Prices - Visit this site to learn about prices for natural emeralds.
• Chatham Synthetic Emerald Price List - On this site you will find prices for created emeralds of various designs and sizes.

Phase 3 - Debating, Discussing, and Reaching Consensus

You have all learned about the WebQuest Created Gemstones: The Real Thing? You must all now answer the Task as a group. Each of you will bring a certain viewpoint to the answer: some of you will agree and others disagree. Use information, pictures, facts, opinions, etc. from the Webpages you explored as evidence to convince your teacher and classmates that your viewpoint is important and should be the answer to the Task.

Phase 4 - Real World Feedback

You have learned a lot. Now's the time to put your learning into a letter you'll send out for real world feedback. All of the students who are in favor of purchasing a natural gemstone will work together in one group and all of the students in favor of a created gemstone will work in another group. You will write a letter that contains opinions, information, and perspectives that you've gained. Here's the process:

1. Begin your letter with a statement of who you are (group of Physical Science students from Sandusky Middle School in VA) and why you are writing your message to this particular person or organization (you've been instructed to seek a professional opinion with regard to your hypothetical choice of a natural or synthetic gemstone).

2. Give background information that shows you understand the topic.

BRIEFLY STATE THE TASK/QUEST AND YOUR ANSWER.

3. Each group should write a paragraph that gives two good reasons supporting your opinion. Make sure to be specific in both the information (like where you got it from on the Web) and the reasoning (why the information proves your point).

4. Have each member of your group proofread the message. Use correct letter format and make sure you have correctly addressed the email message. We will use the link below to make contact as a group. Make sure your teacher gets a copy of the letter.

Your Contact is: Ask-A-Geologist

Conclusion

Now that you have completed your research on the Internet, decide what you think about the differences between natural gemstones and gemstones created in a laboratory. If a created gemstone has the exact same chemical and physical properties as a natural gemstone, can it be considered the same as a natural gemstone? If not, why not? Is a natural gemstone really 'natural' if it has received treatment to enhance its color or correct tiny fractures? What is the difference in price between natural and created gemstones? Should a jewelry store tell customers when they are looking at created rather than natural gemstones? Now that you know more about gemstones, write a paragraph in which you state your preference for buying your mother a ring with a natural or a created gemstone. Justify your preference by discussing price, quality of the gemstone, and what the value of the gemstone will be in the future. Be sure to support your preferences with factual information from your Internet research.

In the process of completing this WebQuest, you've become informed about the availability of natural gemstones and how they are treated, how gemstones are created in the laboratory, and the differences between these types of gemstones. You have developed critical thinking skills as you have explored the different factors involved in this decision-making process. You have read information to answer key questions and formed an educated opinion. Finally, you have written a statement about your choice for a present for your mother. Would you purchase a gemstone for yourself? What kind of gemstone would you buy? Is this a different choice than the one you made for your mother's birthstone ring?