GIPSUM

What is it and where is it formed? Gypsum is a sedimentary mineral. It is found in layers that were formed under salt water millions of years ago. The water evaporated and left the minerals. How and where is it mined? Gypsum is mined in quarries or underground mines. It is mined in France, Mexico, Sicily, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and California. What is it used for? Gypsum is used in wallboard, big sheets of a plaster-like substance covered with paper. Wallboard is used to make new walls in buildings. It is also used in Plaster of Paris, cement, fertilizer, and ornamental stone. It is also used in cement to keep it from hardening too fast. When water is added to gypsum powder, it becomes hard as rock. This is what is used to make plaster casts for broken arms and legs.

Plaster of Paris was given its name because it was first found in French quarries.

Mineral Characteristic	What the mineralogists say	Kid's Guide: What it REALLY means!
Chemical Symbol	CaSO42H2O	It has oxygen, calcium, sulfur, and hydrogen in it.
Color	White, colorless, or gray	It is mostly found in white, gray or it has no color.
Streak	White	When the stone is rubbed on a white plate, it leaves a white powder. If the stone was crushed, this is what color the powder would be.
Transparency	Transparent to opaque	Gypsum might be clear enough to see through, a little blurry, or so cloudy that you can’t see through it at all.
Luster	Vitreous to pearly	When light shines on it, it looks glassy or pearly.
Cleavage	Good in one direction	If you hit it with a hammer, it would break into layers going in one direction.
Fracture	Conchoidal and splintery	This mineral doesn’t break into pieces often but when it does, it doesn’t do it evenly. The splinters would be smooth.
Magnetism	None.	It will not attract, or be attracted to, a magnet.
Hardness	2	It is so soft that it can be scratched by a fingernail.
Specific gravity	2.3	It is a very light stone.
Crystal Shape	Monoclinic