Gypsum vs. Sand — What's the Difference?

Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard/sidewalk chalk, and drywall. A massive fine-grained white or lightly tinted variety of gypsum, called alabaster, has been used for sculpture by many cultures including Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Ancient Rome, the Byzantine Empire, and the Nottingham alabasters of Medieval England.

Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size.

A widespread colorless, white, or yellowish mineral, CaSO4·2H2O, used in the manufacture of plaster of Paris, various plaster products, and fertilizers.

Small loose grains of worn or disintegrated rock.

A mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulphate. When calcinated, it forms plaster of Paris.

(Geology) A sedimentary material, finer than a granule and coarser than silt, with grains between 0.06 and 2.0 millimeters in diameter.

A mineral consisting of the hydrous sulphate of lime (calcium). When calcined, it forms plaster of Paris. Selenite is a transparent, crystalline variety; alabaster, a fine, white, massive variety.

Often sands A tract of land covered with sand, as a beach or desert.

A common white or colorless mineral (hydrated calcium sulphate) used to make cements and plasters (especially plaster of Paris)

The loose, granular, gritty particles in an hourglass.

Sands Moments of allotted time or duration

(Slang) Courage; stamina; perseverance

A light grayish brown to yellowish gray.

To sprinkle or cover with or as if with sand.

To polish or scrape with sand or sandpaper.

To mix with sand.

To fill up (a harbor) with sand.

(uncountable) Rock that is ground more finely than gravel, but is not as fine as silt (more formally, see grain sizes chart), forming beaches and deserts and also used in construction.

A beach or other expanse of sand.

Personal courage.

A particle from 62.5 microns to 2 mm in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.

A light beige colour, like that of typical sand.

A single grain of sand.

A moment or interval of time; the term or extent of one's life (referring to the sand in an hourglass).

(colloquial) A sandpiper.

Of a light beige colour, like that of typical sand.

(transitive) To abrade the surface of (something) with sand or sandpaper in order to smooth or clean it.

(transitive) To cover with sand.

To blot ink using sand.

Fine particles of stone, esp. of siliceous stone, but not reduced to dust; comminuted stone in the form of loose grains, which are not coherent when wet.

A single particle of such stone.

The sand in the hourglass; hence, a moment or interval of time; the term or extent of one's life.

Tracts of land consisting of sand, like the deserts of Arabia and Africa; also, extensive tracts of sand exposed by the ebb of the tide.

Courage; pluck; grit.

To sprinkle or cover with sand.

To drive upon the sand.

To bury (oysters) beneath drifting sand or mud.

To mix with sand for purposes of fraud; as, to sand sugar.

A loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral

French writer known for works concerning women's rights and independence (1804-1876)

Fortitude and determination;

Rub with sandpaper;