Taos, New Mexico – Tasa Graphic Arts, Inc. today is pleased to announce How to Identify Minerals, an educational Earth Science app for iPad. This app introduces students and teachers to Earth’s minerals in an interactive guide that illustrates mineral identification techniques. Topics explored in this app include: what minerals are and how they are different than rocks; how does atomic structure influence the formation of minerals; how and where minerals are formed; how the various types of minerals are grouped; and which properties of minerals can be used to identify an unknown mineral sample.

By viewing HD videos that demonstrate actual mineral identification techniques, the student will learn to identify, name and classify minerals just like a geologist does in the field. The app also includes practice mineral identification activities and a searchable database of more than 50 common minerals. The app may be used to supplement your geology curriculum or can be used to support a complete lesson on minerals and mineral identification.

Features of the app include:
* Hundreds of zoomable high resolution photos of minerals by Dennis Tasa
* HD videos that demonstrate actual mineral identification techniques
* An intuitive navigation style: swipe, drop-down menu, thumbnail gallery
* A drop-down menu with audio controls, access to a glossary and the table of contents
* Narration that can be turned off/on
* Interactive quizzes that are scored with quiz results that can be copied, printed, or shared
* A searchable database of more than 50 common minerals
* Completely self contained, no internet required

Table of Contents:
* Why Minerals are Important
* Minerals and Rocks
* Elements and Atoms
* How Minerals Form
* Properties of Minerals
* Classifying Minerals
* Mineral Identification
* Common Minerals (Database)

Grade levels: 7-13.

Correlates to Next Generation Science Standards:
* ESS2.A: Earth Materials and Systems
* ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
* ESS3.A: Natural Resources
* PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter

Supports Common Core Literacy in Science Standards:
* CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.1-5,9
* CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.1-5,9
* CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.11-12.1-5,9

Device Requirements:
* Compatible with iPad.
* Requires iOS 7.1 or later
* 790 MB

Pricing and Availability:
How to Identify Minerals 1.0 is $7.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Education category.

Tasa Graphic Arts
How to Identify Minerals 1.0
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In addition to producing iOS apps and multi-touch books, Tasa Graphic Arts, Inc. produces award-winning interactive, educational CD-ROMs covering planetary geology, plate tectonics, topographic maps, rocks and minerals, weather and climate, the processes that shape Earth’s surface, and more. Copyright (C) 2015 Tasa Graphic Arts, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

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