Selenite (mineral) was filled with mineral-rich water that drove the crystals' growth. The largest of those crystals weighs 55 tons, is long, and is over 500,000 years old. Gypsum occurs on every continent and is the most common of all the sulfate minerals. Gypsum is formed as an evaporative mineral, frequently found in alkaline lake muds, clay beds, evaporated seas, salt flats, salt springs, and caves. It is frequently found in conjunction with other minerals such as, copper ores, sulfur and sulfides, silver, iron ores, coal, calcite, dolomite, limestone, and opal. Gypsum has been dated to almost every geologic age since the
Interlanguage fossilization 1) why fossilization occurs, 2) the precipitating conditions, 3) what kind of linguistic material is likely to be fossilized, and 4) what type of learners are more prone to fossilize. However, there has been almost no investigation by SLA theorists on the possibilities of preventing or overcoming fossilization, and little explanation related to those adult second language learners who overcome one or more "areas of stability" in interlanguage—those learners whose interlanguage does not fossilize, and who reach a high level of proficiency in the second language. One factor of obvious relevance is motivation, and studies have been conducted regarding motivation