Chapter 9- Minerals Flashcards
Rocks that contain certain valuable minerals.
Ore
A naturally occurring, inorganic, crystalline solid that has a definite chemical composition.
Mineral
A mineral made of a chemical compound. Most compound minerals occur in chemically similar forms that can be grouped into mineral families.
Compound mineral
A chemical geologist who mainly identifies, classified, and analyzes minerals
Mineralogist
A color test used to identify a mineral. The test involves creating a streak of the minerals powder by rubbing it on a ceramic plate.
Streak test
The amount and quality of light a mineral reflects; can be used as a test to identify a mineral.
Luster
A property of mineral crystals associated with their ease of splitting along distinct planes. Varies from perfect to none .
Cleavage
The tendency of certain minerals to break rather than split along crystal planes; an identifying property of some mineral.
Fracture
In mineralogy, a minerals ability to scratch and to resist scratching that relates to the strength of the crystal structure.
Hardness
A scale of relative hardness from 1 to 10 used for classifying minerals.
Mohs scale
The ratio of a minerals density to the density of water at 4* C
Specific gravity
A test used to identify certain minerals by noting their reaction with dilute hydrochloric acid. A positive test produces bubbles of gas.
Acid test
A mineral that contains only one element and that exists in its pure state in nature .
Native mineral
A mineral that contains mainly silicone and oxygen.
Silicate
A mineral composed mainly of oxygen and a metal element. Oxide ores are important sources of metal.
Oxide
