Chapter 2 - ESC1000 Flashcards
What is mineralogy?
The study of minerals.
What are the 5 characteristics that define a mineral?
- Naturally occurring.
- Generally inorganic.
- Solid substance.
- Orderly crystalline structure.
- Definite chemical composition.
What is a rock?
A consolidated mixture of minerals.
What are atoms?
The smallest particle that exists as an element.
What is a nucleus of an atom?
The small heavy core of an atom that contains all of its positive charge and most of its mass.
What are protons?
A positively charged subatomic particle in the nucleus of an atom.
What are neutrons?
A subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom. A neutron is electrically neutral.
What is an electron?
A negatively charged subatomic particle that is found outside the nucleus.
What is the weight of a proton?
1 atomic mass unit.
What is the weight of a neutron?
1 atomic mass unit.
What is the weight of an electron?
1/2000 atomic mass units.
What are valence electrons?
The electrons involved in the bonding process; the electrons occupying the highest principal energy level of an atom. They are located in the outermost shell.
What is the atomic number?
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom.
What is an element?
A substance made up of only one type of atom, each with the same number of protons.
What is the periodic table?
The tabular arrangement of the elements according to atomic number.
What is a chemical compund?
A substance formed by the chemical combination of two or more elements in definite proportions and usually having properties different from those of its constituent elements.
What is the octet rule?
Atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons until they are surrounded by eight valence electrons.
What is a chemical bond?
A strong attractive force that exists between atoms in a substance. It involves the transfer or sharing of electrons that allows each atom to attain a full valence shell.
What are 3 types of chemical bonds?
Ionic, covalent, and metallic bond.
What is an ionic bond?
A chemical bond between two oppositely charged ions formed by the transfer of valence electrons from one atom to the other.
What is an ion?
An atom or a molecule that possesses an electrical charge.
What is a covalent bond?
A chemical bond produced by the sharing of electrons.
What is a metallic bond?
A chemical bond present in all metals that may be characterized as an extreme type of electron sharing in which the electrons move freely from atom to atom.
Why are metals good conductors of electricity?
Because the valence electrons are free to move from one atom to another.
What are diagnostic properties?
A property of a mineral that aids in mineral identification.
What are ambiguous properties?
A property of a mineral that is not diagnostic because it varies among different specimens of the mineral.
What are the 5 types of properties of a mineral?
- Optical
- Habit
- Strength
- Density
- Others
What are the 4 optical properties?
- Luster
- Color
- Streak
- Ability to transmit light
What is luster?
The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral.
What is metallic luster?
Minerals that are shiny like metal, regardless of color.
What is submetallic luster?
Minerals that develop a dull coating or tarnish when exposed to the atmosphere.
Why is color an ambiguous property?
Slight impurities in the same mineral can change the color.
What is streak?
The color of a mineral in powdered form.
What does ability to transmit light means?
When no light can be transmitted through a mineral sample, it is opaque; when light, but not an image can be transmitted, the mineral is translucent; when both light and image are visible through the sample, the mineral is transparent.
What is habit?
Refers to the common or characteristic shape of a crystal or an aggregate of crystals; also called crystal habit.
What are 4 common types of crystal habits?
Fibrous, bladed, banded, and cubic crystals.
What are the 4 types of mineral strength properties?
- Hardness
- Cleavage
- Fracture
- Tenacity
What is hardness?
The resistance a mineral offers to scratching.
What is the Mohs scale?
A series of 10 minerals used as a standard in determining hardness.
What is cleavage?
The tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding.
What is fracture?
The appearance of a surface broken in directions other than along cleavage planes.
What are 4 common types of fracture?
- Irregular
- Conchoidal
- Splintery
- Fibrous
What is tenacity?
A mineral’s toughness or resistance to breaking or deforming.
What are 4 common types of tenacity?
Brittle, malleable, sectile, and elastic.
What is density?
Mass per unit volume of a substance, usually expressed as grams per cubic centimeter.
What is a measure used for density?
Specific gravity.
What is specific gravity?
The ratio of a substance’s weight to the weight of an equal volume of water.
What are 5 other properties of minerals?
Feel, taste, smell, magnetism, and double refraction.
What are rock-forming minerals?
The set of minerals that make up most of the rocks of Earth’s crust.
What are economic minerals?
A concentration of a mineral resource or reserve that can be profitably extracted from Earth.
Which are the elements that make up 98% of the rock-forming minerals?
Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum, Iron, Calcium, Sodium, Potassium, and Magnesium.
What are the 2 mineral groups?
Silicates and nonsilicates.
What are the silicates?
Any numerous mineral that have the oxygen and silicon tetrahedron structure as their basic structure.
What are nonsilicates?
Any mineral group that lacks silica in its structure. Nonsilicates account for less than 10% of Earth’s crust.
What is the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron?
A structure composed of four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon atom that constitutes the basic building block of silicate minerals.
What are the 2 major groups of silicate minerals?
Light silicate minerals and dark silicate minerals.
What are light silicate minerals?
A silicate mineral that lacks iron and/or magnesium. Light silicates are generally lighter in color and have lower specific gravities than dark silicates.
What are the 6 groups of silicate minerals?
Feldspars, Quartz, Pyroxenes, Micas, Amphiboles, and Clay.
Which silicate mineral group is the most plentiful?
The feldspar group comprising about 51% of Earth’s crust.
What are the 2 types of feldspars?
Potassium feldspar and plagioclase feldspar.
What is potassium feldspar?
Light silicate mineral that contains potassium ions.
What is plagioclase feldspar?
A type of feldspar containing both sodium and calcium ions that freely substitute for one another, depending on the crystallization environment.
What is quartz?
The only light silicate mineral that contains only silicon and oxygen and is the second most abundant mineral in the continental crust.
What is a muscovite?
A light color silicate and common member of the mica family.
What is clay?
A group of light-colored silicates that typically form as products of chemical weathering of igneous rock. It is a major component of soil and sedimentary rocks. Kaolinite is a common clay derived from the weathering of feldspar.
What are dark silicate minerals?
A silicate mineral that contains iron and/or magnesium in its structure. They are dark in color and have a higher specific gravity than light silicates.
What is olivine?
A high-temperature dark silicate mineral typically found in basalt.
What is the pyroxene group?
Group of diverse dark silicate minerals that are important components of igneous rocks.
What is augite?
The most common member of the pyroxene group and dominant component of basalt.
What is a hornblade?
A dark green to black mineral of the amphibole group, often found in igneous rocks.
What is a biotite?
A dark iron-rich mineral and a member of the mica family that has excellent cleavage.
What is a garnet?
A silicate mineral composed of individual silica tetrahedra. Garnet is most often brown to deep red and has a glassy luster, lacks cleavage, and exhibits conchoidal fracture.
List the six common nonsilicate groups and their use?
Carbonates (cement), Halides (salt), Oxides (iron ore), Sulfides (copper ore), Sulfates (plaster), and Native Elements (jewelry).
What is renewable?
A resource that is virtually inexhaustive or that can be replenished over relatively short time spans.
What is nonrenewable?
Any resource that forms or accumulates over such long time spans that it must be considered as fixed in total quantity.
What are mineral resources?
All discovered and undiscovered deposits of a useful mineral that can be extracted now or at some time in the future.
