Investigating properties of crystals: fact and fiction | 14-16 years

A close-up photograph showing a purple amethyst crystal

Source: © Daniela Duncan / Getty Images

Practise reasoning about scientific evidence to determine if crytals possess ‘special’ properties using this lesson plan with activities for 14–16 year olds.

This discussion activity uses genuine ideas about the properties of crystals to encourage students to reason, reflect and debate an issue using scientific evidence. Following on from previous work on crystals, the lesson is designed to help students to:

Distinguish between hearsay and scientific evidence.
Debate an issue based on evidence.
Plan an investigation to test a contentious issue.

Thanks for using the RSC’s education resources. You can view one resource per month as a visitor, or two resources per month when you’re logged in with a personal account.

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more: 

unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
applications for funding to support your lessons

Set up your Teach Chemistry account

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not a science teacher or technician based in the UK or Ireland? Don’t worry – you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.