Mineralogy and Petrology Flashcards
Crystal habit characterized by branching, tree-like clusters similar to dendritic.
Arborescent
Which of the following minerals exhibits a splendent luster?
a. Quartz
b. Galena
c. Mica
d. Feldspar
Galena
What is the index of refraction for Canada Balsam?
1.54
Which of the following is NOT part of the calcite group?
a. Magnesite
b. Siderite
c. Rhodochrosite
d. Dolomite
Dolomite
What is the most common method for dissolving silver?
A) Hydrochloric acid
B) Sulfuric acid
C) Nitric acid
D) Phosphoric acid
Nitric Acid
What is the color of K-felds during staining?
A) Red
B) Blue
C) Green
D) Yellow
Yellow
What is the typical magnification used for observing interference figures in thin sections?
A) 5x
B) 10x
C) 25x
D) 45x
25x
Cerargyrite is a mineral of:
A) Silver
B) Copper
C) Gold
D) Lead
Silver (-arg = Argentum)
What is the typical operating cut-off grade for a porphyry copper deposit?
A) 0.1-0.3% Cu
B) 0.3-0.5% Cu
C) 0.5-0.7% Cu
D) 0.7-1.0% Cu
0.3-0.5% Cu
What type of deposit is found in Almaden, Spain?
A) Gold
B) Silver
C) Mercury
D) Copper
Mercury
What is the primary use of agalmatolite/pagodite?
A) Gemstone
B) Carving stone
C) Building material
D) Ore of aluminum
Carving Stone
Where is the Argyle Diamond Pipe located?
A) South Africa
B) Russia
C) Canada
D) Australia
Australia
Which of the following minerals contains the gem variety alexandrite?
A) Corundum
B) Beryl
C) Chrysoberyl
D) Topaz
Chrysoberyl
Theory that proposes that beams of light consist of material particles that spread in all directions from luminous bodies.
Corpuscular Theory
If bright fringes form on the edges of the mineral fragments facing toward the darkened side of the visible field and dark fringes facing the bright side of the field, the refractive index of the mineral fragments is _________ than that of the immersion oil
Answer: Greater
Dark side vs Light side (Greater)
Dark side and Dark side (Lesser)
The direction of movement of the Becke Line is determined by lowering the stage (or raising the objectives) with the Becke Line always moving into the material with the ________ refractive index
Higher
The angle of incidence will bend towards the normal when…
When the light is passing from a medium in which it travels fast into one in which it travels slow.
RI of Water
1.33
The indicatrix of isotropic minerals which is geometrically a sphere, an indicatrix of constant radius, due to light travelling in all directions with the same velocity.
Isotropic Indicatrix
Describe the retardation if the slow direction of the accessory plate corresponds to the slow direction of the mineral and vice versa. What are the colors associated with these retardations?
If the slow direction of the accessory plate corresponds to the slow direction of the mineral, retardation will add and we will see higher order interference colors (produces light blue). If they do not correspond, retardation will, in part, cancel and we will see lower order colors (light yellow).
What color is displayed in a negative optic axis of the uniaxial mineral in a NE-SW direction?
Yellow
An accessory plate used for minerals with low birefringence in order to determine their optic sign by retarding the mineral by 550 um or specifically, one order.
Gypsum plate
A Biaxial interference figure characterized by:
- Thick NS isogyre
- Thin EW isogyre
- Two melatopes on each side of the EW isogyre and are the two optic axes themselves.
Centered Acute Bisectrix (Bxa) figure
A biaxial interference figure characterized by:
- Two melatopes are visible if 2V is less than 30, only one is seen if not
- isogyre straighten once parallel to the cross hair but curves when rotated
Centered biaxial optic axis
What color is displayed in a negative optic axis of the biaxial mineral in the center of Bxa or on the convex part of the isogyres?
Blue
Observed when the Bxo (X- or Z-normal stage) is perpendicular to the stage, with the Bxa and optic normal lying in the plane of the stage. Usually have thick isogyres.
Centered Obtuse Bisectrix
Biaxial interference figure observed when the optic normal is perpendicular to the stage.
Biaxial flash figure
What solution does Aragonite stain black?
Feigl Solution
Which solution stains Calcite Lilac?
a. Meigen
b. Harris Hematoxilin Solution
c. Cobalt Nitrate
d. Organic Dye Alizarin Red
Answer: Harris Hematoxilin Solution
a. Meigen (Aragonite - Purple)
c. Cobalt Nitrate (Aragonite - Lilac)
d. Organic Dye Alizarin Red (Dolomite - Lilac)
Which solution stains Calcite green?
a. Lemberg Hydroxide
b. Silver Chromate
c. Trypan
d. Copper Nitrate
Answer: Copper Nitrate
a. Lemberg Hydroxide (Brown)
b. Silver Chromate (Red Brown)
c. Trypan (Blue)
The following blue-staining solutions stain dolomite blue except the two:
a. Benzidene
b. Trypan Blue
c. Magneson
d. Potassium Ferricyanide
Benzidene (Rhodochrosite - Blue) and Magneson (Smithsonite - Light Blue, Magnesite - Deep Blue)
is a symmetry operation that combines translation (t) or (c) parallel to a mirror plane (m) with reflection across the mirror
Glide Reflection
It is the reciprocal of Miller indices
Weiss Parameters
This crystal form cannot exist alone in perfectly formed (euhedral) crystals and must occur in combination with other crystal forms.
Open crystal forms
Defect are formed when the ions in question move to an interstitial site, leaving unoccupied structural sites or holes behind. These defects combine omission and interstitial defects. Because the ion has simply moved to another location, the overall charge balance of the crystal is maintained, but local lattice distortions occur in the vicinities of both the holes and the
extra ions
Frenkel Defects
Defects either are formed when the ions migrate out of the crystal structure or were never there. These defects create a charge imbalance in the crystal lattice. Such charge imbalances may be balanced by the creation of a second hole in the crystal structure; for example, an anion omission may be created to balance a cation omission
Schottky defects
transformations that involve the conversion of one polymorph into another through bond breakage so that a significant change in structure occurs. Such transformations require large amounts of energy, and this requirement tends to slow or inhibit their occurrence.
Reconstructive transformations
Transformations between polymorphs that do not require bonds to be broken and involve only small rotations of atoms into the new structural arrangement are called __________ and tend to occur very rapidly under the conditions predicted by laboratory experiments and theory.
displacive transformations
Minerals that are macroscopically transparent often possess a (what color) streak?
White
What is the length of one birefringence order?
550um
What are the magnification of low, medium, and high power objectives?
2.5-4x, 8-10x, and 40-60x respectively
Microcline can generally be distinguished from other potassium feldspars such as sanidine and orthoclase by its complex twinning. The twins appear as spindle - shaped crystals that are intergrown at a high angle, giving rise to what is variously called _________.
gridiron or scotchplaid twinning
Non - uniform extinction can result from the _________________. This distorts the crystal structure in a manner that causes different parts of the crystal to go to extinction at different times as the stage is rotated.
deformation of crystals associated with strain
What is a solid solution?
a. Mixture of certain specific compounds
b. Frozen liquid solution
c. Mixed crystalline form
d. Crystals formed by solidification of lava
Mixed crystalline form
Which of the crystal system has two divisions?
a. Isometric
b. Tetragonal
c. Hexagonal
d. Orthorhombic
Hexagonal system is often divided into two subcategories: the hexagonal and trigonal systems
Which of the following minerals crystallizes in the isometric system?
a. Axinite
b. Pyrite
c. Cassiterite
d. Anatase
Pyrite
a. Axinite (Triclinic)
c. Cassiterite (Tetragonal)
d. Anatase (Tetragonal)
Which one of the following minerals belongs to the tetragonal
system?
a. Cassiterite
b. Fluorite
c. Quartz
d. Hematite
Cassiterite
b. Fluorite (Cubic)
c. Quartz (Trigonal)
d. Hematite (Hexagonal)
One of the following minerals belongs to the hexagonal system.
Which one?
a. Celestite
b. Halite
c. Zircon
d. Calcite
Celestite
b. Halite (cubic)
c. Zircon (tetragonal)
d. Calcite (trigonal/rhombohedral)
To the orthorhombic system belongs one of the following minerals.
Name it.
a. Orthoclase
b. Axinite
c. Topaz
d. Chalcopyrite
Topaz
a. Orthoclase (Monoclinic)
b. Axinite (Triclinic)
d. Chalcopyrite (tetragonal)
Can you tell which one of the following mineral crystals belongs to
the monoclinic system?
a. Albite
b. Gypsum
c. Cinnabar
d. Corundum
Gypsum
a. Albite (Triclinic)
c. Cinnabar (Trigonal)
d. Corundum (Trigonal)
The crystal form of one of the following minerals falls in the triclinic
system. Which one?
a. Staurolite
b. Augite
c. Aragonite
d. Rhodonite
Rhodonite
a. Staurolite (Monoclinic)
b. Augite (Monoclinic)
c. Aragonite (Orthorhombic)
What is the face parallel to the vertical axis in a crystal called?
a. Prism
b. Pinacoid
c. Dome
d. Pyramid
Pyramid
The father and son duo W. H. and W. L. Bragg won the Nobel Prize
for Physics in 1915 for which development connected with
crystallography?
a. Crystal classes
b. Refractometry
c. X-ray diffraction
d. Goniometry
X-ray diffraction
What is the function of Nicol prisms in a petrological microscope?
a. To break light into primary colors
b. To produce polarized light
c. To identify inclusions in minerals
d. To determine order of colors
To produce polarized light
What is measured by a goniometer?
a. Scattering of light in a crystal
b. Interfacial angles of crystals
c. Optic axes of crystals
d. Area of a crystal face
Interfacial angles of crystals
A particular device is used in a polarizing microscope to measure
orientation of minerals.
Fedorov stage
Sir C. V. Raman got the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930 for
discovering the light effect named after him. Which mineral was used by
him for his experiments?
a. Zircon
b. Calcite
c. Diamond
d. Quartz
Diamond
Where can a kelyphitic rim be found?
a. Around a volcano
b. Pyroxene or amphibole around olivine
c. Rutile growing on hematite
d. Brilliant cornea around a diamond
Pyroxene or amphibole around olivine
If you found splendent luster in a mineral, what would you see?
a. Brilliant glass-like
b. Shining silk-like
c. Reflecting mirror-like
d. Brilliant diamond-like
Reflecting mirror-like
Which of the following minerals is not formed by evaporation?
a. Carnallite
b. Halite
c. Montmorillonite
d. Sylvite
Montmorillonite
a. Carnallite KMgCl3·6(H2O)
b. Halite
d. Sylvite
Which of the following is a monoclinic feldspar?
a. Anorthoclase
b. Celsian
c. Andesine
d. Bytonite
Celsian, all else Triclinic
Nacre is the layers of which a pearl is made of. What mineral is it?
a. Gypsum
b. Aragonite
c. Bornite
d. Anhydrite
Aragonite
Which mineral has hardness that varies enormously from its face to face?
a. Garnet
b. Corundum
c. Zircon
d. Diamond
Garnet
Which is the element whose polymorphs range from the softest to hardest?
a. Sulphur
b. Carbon
c. Silicon
d. Calcium
Carbon
Which of the following variety of diamond is the toughest?
a. ballas
b. bort
c. carbonado
d. carborundum
carbonado
textures characteristic of a post- metamorphic event, e.g. alteration, weathering, … etc.
Superimposed textures
suffix-blast or -blastic indicates that a feature is of ____________ origin
metamorphic
prefix blasto- (meaning that a feature is ___________________________)
not of metamorphic origin but is inherited from the parent rock
where the interlocking randomly oriented crystals are somewhat elongate, prismatic or subidioblastic. Usually applied to rocks with one or two mineral species only.
a. Granoblastic polygonal
b. Granoblastic interlobate
c. Granoblastic amoeboid
d. Granoblastic decussate
Granoblastic decussate
where the interlocking randomly oriented crystals are somewhat elongate, prismatic or subidioblastic. Usually applied to rocks with one or two mineral species only.
a. Granoblastic polygonal
b. Granoblastic interlobate
c. Granoblastic amoeboid
d. Granoblastic decussate
Granoblastic decussate
where all the grains have irregular outlines, and all the minerals are anhedral
a. Granoblastic polygonal
b. Granoblastic interlobate
c. Granoblastic amoeboid
d. Granoblastic decussate
Granoblastic amoeboid
a deformed rock with a texture that records the deformation
Tectonite
It involves heating a material above its recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature for an appropriate amount of time and then cooling. In this process, atoms migrate in the crystal lattice and the number of dislocations decreases, leading to a change in ductility and hardness.
Annealing
where the inclusions define a spiral shaped trail, which may have developed from the “rolling over” of the poikiloblasts. Garnet is famous for this
Snowball
a metamorphosed fine-grained sedimentary rock
Pelite
Where the poikiloblasts overgrow the pre-existing foliation. This texture therefore indicates post-tectonic crystallization of the poikiloblasts
Helicitic
develops in serpentinites, where the serpentine minerals replace the granular olivine crystals giving rise to hour-glass like appearances
Hour-glass texture
is characterized by optical continuity between the mineral and its overgrowth. Both the mineral and the overgrowth must belong to the same structural group, and may possibly be the same mineral. This type of overgrowth is controlled fully by the the matrix mineral.
Epitaxial overgrowth (Reaction Texture)
One mineral overgrows another of a similar structure (e.g. Actinolite rims on glaucophane, both monoclinic). Orientation of overgrowing mineral is controlled by that of the overgrown one
Topatactic Replacement (Reaction Texture)
a replacement of one mineral along its rim by an intergrowth of two or more minerals, in a way that the new minerals almost completely surround the mineral being replaced
Kelyphitic texture (Reaction Texture)
Monomineralic coronas are also known as
Moats
several concentric layers of one or more minerals completely encircling an older phase. The layers (which range from one to five in number) represent asequence of reactions that have taken place (none to completion) to replace the mineral in the core
Corona Texture (a reaction texture)
where the core of a mineral is dissolved or replaced leaving behind a surviving rim. Such textures usually form due to an original compositional zoning within the mineral with the replaced core
Atoll texture (A reaction texture)
Are irregular fine-grained mineral intergrowths that form as a result of a certain reaction that did not go to completion. These intergrowths are often recognized by their wormy appearance and often occur along the boundaries of reacting minerals
Symplectites (also a reaction texture)
Hornfelsic texture is a non-foliated metamorphic texture that is characterized by a very fine-grained (<1mm), dense texture. This texture is common in metamorphic rocks that have been formed by contact metamorphism, where rocks have been heated by hot magma or lava
Hornfelsic Texture
are granoblastic calc - silicate rocks formed by contact metamorphism of carbonate country rocks such as limestone or dolostone
Skarns , also known as tactites
Sodium-rich basalts and andesites
Spilites and keratophyres respectively
This rock may be one of the driving forces for plate motion. The slab - pull effect generated by such rock in subducted slabs is thought to drive mantle convection and plate motion.
Eclogite (3.5-4 g/cc)
What is a diatreme?
a. Intrusive igneous body
b. vulcanic plug
c. vertical vent containing breccia and older rocks
d. volcanic vent piercing sedimentary strata
vertical vent containing breccia and older rocks
What is an intrusion which domes the overlying rocks after piercing
lower layers called?
a. Batholith
b. laccolith
c. phacolith
d. diapir
laccolith
Hydrous minerals are stable in _______, which begin to form at temperatures of ∼ 300 ° C
Schists
which refers to the thin, sill - like intrusion of magma into parallel country rock layers.
Lit par lit intrusion
Percent Matrix of Protomylonite
10-50%
are metaquartzites that contain 20 – 30% iron and are also commonly banded.
Taconites
In asymmetrical porphyroclasts or porphyroblasts, what is the indicator of shear direction?
Mineral tails that points in the direction of shear
_______ grain tail complexes consist of wedge-shaped tails that do not cross the reference plane of shear.
Sigma (σ) grain tail complex
_______ grain tail complexes are produced by relatively rapid grain rotation relative to tail growth rate so that parts of the tail crosses the reference plane.
Delta (δ) grain tail complexes
_______ grain tail complexes that have no discernible indication for shear directions because the images of the tails are symmetrical/mirrored.
Theta (θ) grain tail complexes
are lines drawn on geological maps that mark the fi rst appearance of a particular index mineral.
isograds
rocks that compose the bulk of many metamorphic aureoles, forming at temperatures and pressures generally at 450-600C and <2.5kbar
Hornblende hornfels facies