Read the Passage given below:
1. When you’re on the beach, you’re stepping on ancient mountains, skeletons of marine animals, even tiny diamonds. Sand provides a mineral treasure-trove, a record of geology’s earth-changing processes.
2. Sand: as children we play on it and as adults we relax on it. It is something we complain about when ft gets in our food, and praise when it’s moulded into castles. But we don’t often look at it, If we did, we would discover an account of a geological past and a history of marine life that goes back thousands and in some cases millions of years.
3. Sand covers not just sea-shores, but also ocean beds, deserts and mountains. It is one of the most common substances on earth, And it is a major element in man made materials too –concrete is largely sand, while glass is made of little else.
4. What exactly is sand? Well, it is larger than fine dust and smaller than shingle. Depending on its age and origin, a particular sand can consist of tiny pebbles or porous granules. Its grains may have the shape of stars or spirals, their edges lagged or smooth. They have come from the erosion of rocks, or from the skeletons of marine organisms, which accumulate on the bottom of the oceans, or even from volcanic eruptions.
5. Color is another clue to sand’s origins. If it is a dazzling white, its grains may be derived from nearby coral outcrops, from crystalline quartz rocks or from gypsum. On Pacific Islands jet black sands form from volcanic minerals.
6. Usually, the older the granules, the finer they are and the smoother their edges. The fine, white beaches of northern Scotland, for instance, are recycled from sandstone several hundred million years old. Perhaps they will be stone once more, in another few hundred million.
7. Sand is an irreplaceable industrial ingredient whose uses are legion: but ft has one vital function you might never even notice. Sand cushions our land from the sea’s impact, and geologists say it often does a better job of protecting our shores than the most advanced coastal technology.
On the basis of your understanding of the passage, answer any five questions from the six given below:
1. How is sand a ‘treasure-trove’?
Answer:Treasur-trove means a collection of valuable things (such as gold and silver coins or jewels) found in a place where it was hidden, buried, etc.And therefore,Sand contain more skeletons of marine life, and also they (sand) contains tiny diamonds, and this is why sand is a ‘treasure-trove’
2. How is sand both a pain and a pleasure?
sand is a secret stash as it is an assortment of skeletons of marine creatures and small jewels, and it is a record of geography's earth-evolving processes.
3. Name two man-made materials that contain sand.
Here is the two names of man-made materials that contain sand are as 1. Stone and 2. Concrete.
4. List the different shapes of sand
Here is the List of the different shapes of sand - The shape of a sand dune is dependent on the strength of the wind and on the sand type. Generally speaking, there are five types of sand dunes: transverse, linear/longitudinal, star, barchan/crescentic, and parabolic/blowout.
5. What is the origin of white sand?
The sand is not actually white and doesn't act like “sand” either. Gypsum is actually a clear substance; the dunes appear white like snow because the gypsum grains are constantly banging into each other. The scratches then reflect the sun's rays making them appear white.
In what ways are older granules different from recent granules?
In many ways older granules different from recent granules as they more seasoned granules the better they are and the smoother the edges though new granules are not really.