How Diamonds Are Formed Under Pressure — Questions and answers

Read the full story

What surprising thing did Ruby's father say diamonds and pencil lead have in common?

Choices

  1. They are both very soft.
  2. They are both made of pure carbon. ✓
  3. They both sparkle in the sun.
  4. They both break easily.

Answer: They are both made of pure carbon.

From page 2

Where did Ruby imagine traveling to understand how diamonds are made?

Choices

  1. To a faraway sunny beach
  2. To her school library
  3. Deep, deep into the Earth ✓
  4. To the top of a tall mountain

Answer: Deep, deep into the Earth

From page 3

What are the conditions like in the Earth's upper mantle?

Choices

  1. Cool and calm with low pressure.
  2. A sunny garden with gentle breezes.
  3. Extreme pressure and blistering heat. ✓
  4. Empty space with no atoms.

Answer: Extreme pressure and blistering heat.

From page 4

What happened to the carbon atoms under intense pressure and heat?

Choices

  1. They melted away into liquid.
  2. They turned into soft graphite.
  3. They locked together to form a strong diamond. ✓
  4. They floated away into space.

Answer: They locked together to form a strong diamond.

From page 6

How did the diamonds travel from deep inside the Earth to the surface?

Choices

  1. They slowly floated up on water.
  2. They were carried by a super-fast column of molten rock from a volcanic eruption. ✓
  3. Animals dug them out and carried them up.
  4. They walked on tiny legs to the surface.

Answer: They were carried by a super-fast column of molten rock from a volcanic eruption.

From page 7

According to Ruby's parents, where can you find carbon?

Choices

  1. Only in diamonds and pencils.
  2. Only deep inside the Earth.
  3. In living things, wood, apples, and even the air we breathe out. ✓
  4. Only in shiny metals.

Answer: In living things, wood, apples, and even the air we breathe out.

From page 9