Earth system Flashcards
Physical properties
Any properties that can be observed using the five senses or can be measured without changing the matter.
Weight/mass
Weight-how heavy an object is(mass is how much “stuff” (matter) something is made of.
Solid
A state of matter that maintains its own shape instead of conforming to the shape of its container.
Liquid
Something that can flow and takes the shape of its container, like water or juice, but it has a fixed amount of space (volume), similar to how a solid stays the same size.
Conduct
It allows something like heat or electricity to flow or pass through it easily.
minerals
A substance found in nature, minerals make up rocks.
Heat
Energy that moves from something hot to something cold, a form of energy.
Streak
The color of its powder when you rub it on a hard, rough surface like a tile.
Hardness
How easily or difficult it is to scratch a minerals surface.
Tiles
The colored powder left behind when a mineral is scraped across a hard surface like a ceramic tile, which helps identify the mineral by its “streak” color.
Color
It’s what light reflects back to our eyes. Minerals are colored because they absorb some colors of light and reflect the rest.
Luster
How shiny a rock or mineral looks when light shines on it, like a mirror, or glassy, or even dull. (Luster is physical property used by mineralogist to help identify minerals).
Cleavage
How some minerals break along smooth, flat lines instead of randomly like when you crack an egg.
Scratch test
Where you try to scratch a rock with different objects (like a fingernail or a penny) to see if it’s hard or soft.
Rocks
A naturally formed combination of minerals and other natural materials.
Minerals
A solid, naturally formed substance that always has the same composition and the same properties.
Sediment
The “dirt and stuff” that settles to the bottom of liquids, or is carried and then deposited by water, wind, or ice.
Sedimentary
Rock formed from compacted sediment.
igneous
Rock formed from magma or lava.
metamorphic
Rock formed from existing rock; heat and pressure cause the minerals to form new combinations or new crystals.
