Fool's gold looks almost exactly like real gold. To tell them apart though you can test different ways. Fool's gold isn't very malleable (can't form it into sheets) and when crushed it is greenish brown not gold colored.
real gold does not sing it sinks and so does fools gold.
real gold
Iron Pyrites is often referred to as Fools Gold because it forms metallic looking crystals which are golden in colour. The appearance of these crystals lead to them being commonly mistaken for gold by those who find them.
Fool's gold, also known as pyrite, does not contain any real gold. It is a mineral made of iron sulfide and has a brassy yellow color that can sometimes be mistaken for gold.
Two methods to tell real gold from fools gold are:Rub the piece of gold against a piece of unglazed ceramic material. If it is real, it will leave a golden mark while fools gold will leave a black mark.Apply nitric acid to the gold. If it dissolves, then it is obviously fake, as real gold cannot be dissolved in nitric acid.
There isn't much for examples of fools gold in everyday items that you have in your house. About the only thing i can think of besides looking at a piece of fools gold in pictures on the internet or at a local rock shop or museum would be to crumple some tinfoil up and color it a dark gold. Where you see the small, almost square patterns in the tinfoil is a bit like fools gold. Iron Pyrite, this minerals metalic luster and pale brass-yellow hue have earned it the the nickname "fools gold" because of its resemblance to gold.
Pyrite
Pyrite is sometimes called fool's gold because of its metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue, which can resemble real gold to the untrained eye. However, pyrite is a different mineral with a lower value and hardness compared to gold.
Fools gold
Real gold has a higher melting point than fools gold. By applying heat, it is possible to determine the melting point of the material. If the material melts at a temperature higher than 1,064 degrees Celsius (1,947 degrees Fahrenheit), it is likely real gold.
Real gold is extremely soft and malleable; therefore, real gold could be dented with little pressure. Fools gold (Iron Pyrite) is much harder, and therefore harder to dent. A practical method is to get the material wet, and hold it up in the sun. Gold and fools gold will both shine. Now put your hand between the material and the sun. The gold will still shine, but the fools gold will become quite dark. This is because the shine of gold comes from diffuse reflection (like light shining on paper), while fools gold's comes from specular reflection (like a mirror).
Fools gold [pyrite] does not come in flakes like slate but is randomly shaped and cannot come cleanly off in flakes.