Chapter 3: Minerals And Rocks

Question 1

Substances that are found naturally in the earth and have a crystalline structure

Answer 1

Minerals

Question 2

The branch of geology that deals with the identification and classification of minerals

Answer 2

Mineralogy

Question 3

Substances that cost naturally in the earth’s crust as single, unconvinced elements. (This is the smallest group of mineral classification.)

Answer 3

Native elements

Question 4

Compounds made with the elements fluorine, bromine, chlorine, or iodine. (Examples include: halite, sylvite, and flourished.)

Answer 4

Halides

Question 5

Two specific minerals that contains the element sulfur

Answer 5

Sulfides (pyrite and cinnabar)
Sulfates (anhydride and gypsum)

Question 6

Minerals that contain the element oxygen bonded to a metal

Answer 6

Oxides

Question 7

Minerals containing carbon bonded to oxygen

Answer 7

Carbonates

Question 8

BONUS: What is the most common carbonate mineral?

Answer 8

Calcite

Question 9

Minerals containing the element phosphorous bonded to four oxygen atoms

Answer 9

Phosphates

Question 10

The largest mineral group which composes over 90% of the earth’s crust

Answer 10

Silicates (all of which contain silicon, oxygen, and other elements)

Question 11

Geometric structures that are composed of atoms or molecules and have an orderly arrangement (this characteristic is shared by all minerals)

Answer 11

Crystals

Question 12

The many flat surfaces of a crystal

Answer 12

Faces

Question 13

The line of powder left by a mineral on a piece of unglazed porcelain

Answer 13

Streak

Question 14

The way light is reflected from the surface of a mineral

Answer 14

Luster

Question 15

The resistance of a smooth surface of a mineral to being scratched

Answer 15

Hardness

Question 16

Hardness scale that is rated 1-10 (from softest to hardest), providing a standard of comparison for all other minerals

Answer 16

Mohs scale

Question 17

The tendency of a mineral to break readily along certain flat surfaces (planes), producing fragments with he same shape as the parent mineral

Answer 17

Cleavage

Question 18

Minerals that do not possess the ability to break readily along flat surfaces break in different shapes. This property is called…

Answer 18

Fracture

Question 19

A number that compares an object’s density to the density of water

Answer 19

Specific gravity

Question 20

The ratio of the mass of any volume of a substance to the mass of an equal volume of water

Answer 20

Specific gravity

Question 21

Test of placing a drop of diluted hydrochloric _________ on a specimen of a mineral

Answer 21

Acid test

Question 22

Property of a mineral that causes it to glow when exposed to ultraviolet light

Answer 22

Flourescence

Question 23

Property of a mineral that causes it to continue to glow for a while after being exposed to ultraviolet light, then placed in the dark

Answer 23

Phosphorescence

Question 24

Another hardness test used for industrial purposes, which consists of striking a small, very hard ball into the material being tested

Answer 24

Brinell hardness test

Question 25

General term for extracting minerals from the earth

Answer 25

Mining

Question 26

6 of the most important metals extracted from the earth

Answer 26

Gold, silver, copper, iron, aluminum, and platinum

Question 27

Any mineral containing a valuable metallic element is called an ______.

Answer 27

Ore (e.g. hematite is an iron ore)

Question 28

The science of extracting metals from the earth and preparing them for use

Answer 28

Metallurgy

Question 29

Three steps of metallurgy

Answer 29

1. Extracting 2. Refining 3. Shaping

Question 30

The most abundant element in the earth’s crust

Answer 30

Aluminum

Question 31

The refining process which included heating the metal in a high-pressure container with lye (sodium hydroxide)

Answer 31

Bayer process

Question 32

Refining process that involves dissolving the chemical (produced in the Bayer process) in the mineral cryolite and using electricity to remove the final refined metal

Answer 32

Hall-Heroult process

Question 33

Metal used for producing aircraft, spacecraft, automobile wheels, and other applications( i.e. soft can drinks, kitchen foil) due to its lightness and strength

Answer 33

Aluminum

Question 34

The second most common metal in the earth’s crust; found in large deposits in China, Brazil, Australia, India, Russia

Answer 34

Iron

Question 35

The primary method through the ages for refining iron by processing the iron ore with limestone and coke to form pig iron

Answer 35

Blast furnace

Question 36

A more environmentally-conscious way to refine iron using methane gas instead of coke

Answer 36

Direct iron reduction

Question 37

A metal mixture of two or more metals

Answer 37

Alloy

Question 38

The alloy of iron and carbon

Answer 38

Steel

Question 39

The alloy of iron, carbon, and nickel or chromium

Answer 39

Stainless steel

Question 40

A reddish-orange metal used as the coating of pennies; a good conductor of electricity; easy to shape into thin bands

Answer 40

Copper

Question 41

An alloy of copper and zinc

Answer 41

Brass

Question 42

An alloy of copper and tin

Answer 42

Bronze

Question 43

Metal used for radiation shielding, automobile batteries, and small-arms ammunition

Answer 43

Lead

Question 44

Metal primarily used in stainless steel, electrical heating elements, certain scientific instruments, and magnets

Answer 44

Nickel

Question 45

Metal used to coat other metals to prevent corrosion (used in making cans for food)

Answer 45

Tin

Question 46

Metal used in making coins and in preventing corrosion

Answer 46

Zinc

Question 47

Metal used as fuel for nuclear reactors

Answer 47

Uranium

Question 48

Metals valued for their durability, rarity, and beauty

Answer 48

Precious metals

Question 49

Precious metal that has been treasured by man since early times; much of it is formed into bars called bullion and stored in guarded vaults as a financial reserve

Answer 49

Gold

Question 50

A precious metal used in making jewelry, tableware, and other items that display its luster; the most reflective of all metals in its purest state

Answer 50

Silver

Question 51

The best known conductor of heat and electricity at normal temperatures; also used in photographic films

Answer 51

Silver

Question 52

White-grey precious metal considered to be even more valuable than gold or silver because of its many uses

Answer 52

Platinum

Question 53

The rarest, most durable, and most beautiful minerals

Answer 53

Precious stones

Question 54

Precious stone with Mohs value of ten

Answer 54

Diamond

Question 55

What are the four Cs

Answer 55

Caret weight, clarity, color, and cut

Question 56

The red variety of corundum

Answer 56

Ruby

Question 57

Blue corundum containing traces of iron or titanium

Answer 57

Sapphire

Question 58

Green beryl containing traces of chromium oxide

Answer 58

Emerald

Question 59

Gems that are not as rare, durable or esteemed as precios stones

Answer 59

semiprecious stones

Question 60

Look like natural gemstone but have different chemical and physical properties (imitation stones)

Answer 60

Simulant gemstones

Question 61

Identical to their natural counterparts in appearance and chemical content

Answer 61

Synthetic gemstones

Question 62

The process of growing a large crystal on and around a small crystal

Answer 62

overgrowth

Question 63

Process that drops powdered chemicals into a blowtorch flame

Answer 63

flame-fusion process

Question 64

Method that begins by melting ingredient powders in a container

Answer 64

puled method

Question 65

A highly complicated process that is primarily used for making emeralds and certain non-gemstone materials

Answer 65

hydrothermal synthesis

Question 66

The hard material that makes up the earths crust

Answer 66

rock

Question 67

The branch of geology that is concerned with the origin, composition, and structure of rocks

Answer 67

petrology

Question 68

Rocks that form when magma solidifies

Answer 68

igneous rock

Question 69

Rock that hardens while still underground

Answer 69

intrusive rock

Question 70

Rocks that are forced out of the earth as lava and cool

Answer 70

extrusive rock

Question 71

The chief condition affecting an igneous rocks texture

Answer 71

the rate at which the magma cools

Question 72

The most common igneous rock

Answer 72

basalt

Question 73

Mixed texture rock that cools slowly and then quickly

Answer 73

porphyritic rock

Question 74

When magma cools very quickly and no crystals form

Answer 74

amorphous rock

Question 75

The best example of amorphous igneous rock

Answer 75

obsidian

Question 76

Rock that forms when heat, pressure, and chemical action fuse sediments together

Answer 76

sedimentary rock

Question 77

Hard, round structures that form when minerals settle out of water

Answer 77

concretions

Question 78

The horizontal rock layer that has different types of rock layer above it

Answer 78

stratum

Question 79

States that any undisturbed strata will lie in the order that they were laid down

Answer 79

law of superposition

Question 80

Rock formed from fragments (clasts) of other rocks

Answer 80

clastic sedimentary rock

Question 81

The most abundant sedimentary rock

Answer 81

shale

Question 82

Consist of grains of sand cemented together into rock

Answer 82

sandstone