[citation needed] Due to common impurities and differences in regions, gum copal ranges in color from black to yellow to white.
A drop test using an alcohol or other solvent will leave amber unaffected, while copal's surface will become sticky.
As both amber and gum copal are produced from tree sap hardening, insects and other organisms can be trapped inside (an idea which provided the basis for DNA extraction in Jurassic Park).
Depending on whether this organism can still be found alive in the present or recent past can give reference to the age and identification of the sample.
White soft (WS) is the lowest grade of gum copal, larger chunks, black in color with about 60% purity.