1. Read through the lab instructions document below before executing the lab steps and creating the report.
2. Refer to Owen, Earth Lab: Exploring the Earth Sciences, ISBN-13: 9780538737005, Lab 2 : Minerals, Economically Valuable and Useful Minerals, pages 41, 42, and 43.
3. Follow all procedures in the lab instructions for the items you will need to include in your report.
4. After executing all steps contained in the lab instructions, submit a single Word document containing your report to the Week 1 Dropbox.
Your Name
SCI230, Professor’s Name
Current Date
Lab 1: Economically Valuable and Useful Minerals
Table—11 Common Household Substances
| # | Name of Metal or Primary Substance | Object Made of This Substance | Description of the Substance | Mineral Sources of This Metal or Substance | Mineral Composition | Type of Mineral |
| 1 | Chromium stainless steel | |||||
| 2 | Nickel stainless steel | |||||
| 3 | Aluminum | |||||
| 4 | Brass (Cu, Zn alloy, use Zn) | |||||
| 5 | Gold | |||||
| 6 | Copper | |||||
| 7 | Concrete | |||||
| 8 | Sheet rock | |||||
| 9 | Porcelain | |||||
| 10 | Glass | |||||
| 11 | Graphite | Lead in a pencil | Soft, dark in color, flakes off | Graphite | C | Native element |
1. In 2008, it was estimated that there were 5.6 million metric tons of recoverable reserves of tin. There are about 10.1 million metric tons that are not as easily recovered. The production rate of tin is about 0.333 million metric tons per year. What is the projected lifetime of tin?
2. As tin and other ores become scarcer, what will happen to the price of these commodities?
3. As a result of increasing prices, what will happen to the part of the tin resource that is not currently economically valuable enough to mine?
4. How would an improved mining technique or technology influence the quantity and cost of mining the reserves?
5. What is likely to happen if we run out of a resource or if its quantity drops to a very low amount? Think about its use and what could be done about its shortage, economics, price, and mining. Might there be environmental consequences?
6. Petroleum production in the United States peaked in the 1970s and now much of our petroleum comes from nations that are not necessarily very friendly. How has petroleum production in the U.S. become a political issue, and what are the two sides? What are the consequences of unbridled mining of petroleum? What are the consequences if petroleum is not mined?
Follow the directions above to write your lab report. Submit your lab report using the Week 1 Lab Report template as Word document to the Dropbox. Name this week’s lab report “iLab Week 1 Report Your Name.”