Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is the building blocks of rocks?
minerals
Name the five things that define a mineral.
- Naturally occurring
- Inorganic
- Possesses an orderly internal structure of atoms
- Have definite chemical composition
- Solid
What makes a mineraloid instead of a mineral?
lack of an orderly internal structure
What is an aggregate?
mixture
What is an aggregate of minerals?
rocks
What are the building blocks of minerals?
elements
How many elements are known?
Over 100
What is an atom?
Smallest particles of matter
What are atoms characteristics?
All those of elements
How are atoms constructed ?
Nucleus containing protons and neutrons
What has positive electrical charges ?
Proton
What has neutral electrical charges ?
Neutrons
What surrounds the nucleus?
Energy levels or shells
What do energy levels or shells contain?
Electrons
What are negative electrical charges ?
Electrons
What is the atomic number ?
The number of protons in an atoms nucleus
What determines the name of the element ?
Atomic number / protons in nucleus
What are ions?
Atoms that gain or lose electrons
How are compounds formed?
Bonding of atoms
What are isotopes?
Same # of protons
Different # of neutrons
Do isotopes have different mass numbers?
Yes
Define a mass number ?
Sum of the neutrons plus protons
Many _______ are _________ and emit energy and particles
Isotopes
Radioactive
What is radioactive decay?
When isotopes are unstable and disintegrate naturally
What are the properties of minerals ? (8)
- Crystal form
- Luster
- Color
- Streak
- Hardness
- Cleavage
- Fracture
- Specific gravity
What do you use to find the hardness of a mineral?
Mohs hardness scale
step process of finding hardness of a mineral
- Scratch will nail
- scratched mineral=<2.5 - Scratch glass
- glass scratched >5.5
- glass not scratched 2.5
What a mineral shape looks like when crystal is formed.
Crystal form
The way light reflects off the mineral
Luster