Lindsey D. Eastburn, age 10, of Eugene, Oregon, for his question:

Isn't iron pyrijte more valuable than gold?

Iron pyrite looks like rare gold, but it tarnishes and can't be used to make precious jewelry. By the pound gold is far more expensive, and miners called iron pyrite fool's gold because it is worth less money. But as we know, the money value of things is not everything. For example, when lost in a parched desert, a glass of water is more valuable than a diamond. We need limestone to make iron and steel. It is cheap and plentiful    but very valuable to this age of machines. Iron pyrite is valuable in much the same way.

This so called fool's gold consists mostly of iron and sulphur. I Then separated, most of its sulphur is used to make sulphuric acid, and every year millions of tons of sulphuric acid are used behind the scenes to make a long list of everyday items. Sulphuric acid from iron pyrite helps to make rayon and other textiles, soap and glue, steel and fertilizers and it even plays a part in refining petroleum. Its cost is less than gold, but surely pyrite is at least as valuable as gold.