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Beach Detectives
 Sand can tell you a lot about your surroundings. In this activity, you’ll be a beach detective, searching for clues in the sand.
What You Need
• Sheet of dark construction paper
• Small container
• Magnifying glass
• White vinegar
• Magnet
What to Do
1. Put a spoonful of sand on the dark paper. Use the magnifying glass to look closely at the different shapes, sizes, and colours of the sand grains. If there are rocks (large or small) nearby, compare some of the sand grains to those rocks. Do they look similar?
2. Put the magnet close to the sand. Does the magnet pick up any of the sand grains?
3. Add a pinch of sand to the container. Add a bit of vinegar and watch for tiny bubbles.
4. Compare the grains of sand at the top edge of the beach with those grains closest to the water’s edge. Where do you find the larger grains of sand?
How it Works
The action of wind and water wears large rocks down into tiny grains of sand. Most of the sand grains you find on a beach should be similar in colour to rocks nearby.
Sand grains attracted to the magnet contain iron. Magnetite is one mineral that contains iron.
Sand grains that were once part of living animals give off tiny bubbles of gas when vinegar is added. These grains are pieces of shell, bone, or even sea urchin spines.
Wind and waves sort sand on the beach. Wind can pick up light sand and blow it up the beach. Lighter grains also stay in the water longer than heavier grains and ride the waves high up the beach. Larger, heavier grains are usually found closer to the water’s edge.
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