Minerals Flashcards
What is an Atom
a particle of matter that uniquely defines a chemical element.
What is an Electron
a negatively charged subatomic particle
What is an Element
a substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons
What is an Ion
a charged atom or molecule.
What is an Ionic bond
When the metal loses electrons to become a positively charged cation, whereas the nonmetal accepts those electrons to become a negatively charged anion.
What is an Isotope
atoms of an element that have the same number of protons and electrons, but a different number of neutrons.
What is a mineral
a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure.
What is a neutron
subatomic particles that are one of the primary constituents of atomic nuclei.
What is a proton
a subatomic particle with a positive electrical charge.
What is a saturated solution
there is so much solute that if there was any more, it would not dissolve.
What is a supersaturated solution
a solution that contains more than the maximum amount of solute that is capable of being dissolved at a given temperature.
What is a valence orbit
the set of orbitals which are energetically accessible for accepting electrons to form chemical bonds
What are valence electrons
the electrons in the outermost shell, or energy level, of an atom.
What is a solute
A substance that is dissolved in a solution
what is a solvent
any substance, usually liquid, which is capable of dissolving one or several substances, thus creating a solution
What is a crystal
a solid whose atoms are arranged in a “highly ordered” repeating pattern.
What is nucleation
a process where the molecules in a liquid start to gather into tiny clusters, arranging in a way that will define the crystal structure of the solid.
What is cation
ions that are positively charged
What is anion
Anions are ions that are negatively charged.
what is cleavage
the property of a mineral that allows it to break smoothly along specific internal planes when the mineral is struck sharply with a hammer.
what is hardness
a measure of its relative resistance to scratching
what is luster
a physical property used by mineralogists to help identify minerals
What is streak
the color of a mineral powder.
What are the 6 ways that elements are made?
- Primordial elements
- Main sequence elements
- red giants
- supergiants
- supernova
- man made
Why is Fe an important element in how elements are made?
Iron is an essential element for all forms of life and is non-toxic.
What is special about U in how elements are made?
It is the major material from which other synthetic transuranium elements are made.
Most of the atoms are created in which of the 6 ways?
The most abundant elements on earth are created in which way (why does this make them abundant? )
What is special about where H and He came from
What elements are man made?
The ones on the bottom
What are the 2 most abundant elements in the universe
Helium and Hydrogen
What are the 2 most abundant elements in the earth as a whole
Oxygen and Silicon
What are the 2 most abundant elements in earths crust
Oxygen and Silicon
How many electron orbits (or energy levels) are possible in a Bohr model of the atom?
2 (first level), 8 (2nd level), 18 (3rd level), and 32 (4th level)
How many electrons can be held in each orbit?
2
Which electron orbits (energy levels) fill up first?
1s will be filled first, with the maximum of 2 electrons. 2s will be filled next, with the maximum of 2 electrons. 2p will be filled next, with the maximum of 6 electrons.
Why do electrons fill those orbits first?
lowest energy
Where do you find the protons and neutrons in the Bohr Model of the Atom?
The nucleus
What are the general properties of a proton
Positive
What are the general properties of a electron
Negative
What are the general properties of a neutron
Neutral
Why do protons and electrons need to be the same number?
The positive charge on a proton is equal in magnitude to the negative charge on an electron
How is the mass number different from the atomic mass.
The mass number is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in an atom. The atomic mass is the average number of protons and neutrons for all natural isotopes of an element.
Why does an atom become an ion?
Does an atom gain or lose electrons to become a + ion.
Lose
Does an atom gain or lose electrons to become a - ion.
Gain
Where are the positive ions found on the periodic table
Left side
Where are the negative ions found on the periodic table?
Right side
What holds those ions in an ionic bond together?
Oppositely charged particles attract each other.
How do you know if two atoms can form an ionic bond?
You need a negative and a positive
Give an example of the most common solvent.
Water
What was the solvent for making diamonds?
Give an example of a common solute.
Sugar, Salt
What was the solute for making diamonds
Solute for making our crystals in class?
Alum
Solute for making the crystals in the cave?
What is the difference between: Unsaturated, Saturated, and Supersaturated Solutions.
Unsaturated- a solution that contains less than the maximum amount of solute that is capable of being dissolved.
Saturated-one substance takes up as much space as possible within another substance and it can take no more molecules.
Supersaturated- a solution that contains more than the maximum amount of solute that is capable of being dissolved at a given temperature
What happens in precipitation from solutions.
a compound coming out of solution.
Give three examples of precipitation from solution that we have covered in class.
what type of rocks are made from precipitation from solution?
sedimentary rocks
What happens in solid state diffusion?
a liquid, a gas, or another solid can mix together with the host solid on the atomic level.
What is the one example of solid state diffusion we have covered in class?
What type of rocks are made by solid state diffusion?
metamorphic rocks
What happens in solidification of a melt?
a liquid becomes a solid
What type of rocks are made from solidification of a melt?
Igneous rocks
Describe how we got the Alum in your solution to come out of the solution.
We heated the solution so the Alum would come out of the solution.
Why did the minerals in the cave in Mexico grow so large?
Intense heat
Why do we normally not see crystals in their natural crystal shape?
in order to readily show their geometric form and flat surfaces, crystals need ideal growing conditions and room to grow.
What are the similarities between our Alum crystals, the cave crystals, and making diamonds.
Where do minerals get their crystal shape?
the symmetrical, three-dimensional arrangement of atoms inside the mineral.
How are diamonds and graphite the same and different?
In diamonds, one carbon atom is bonded with four others to create a dense, cage-like crystal structure that is very hard. In graphite, one carbon bonds with three others to form flat layers that stack like a deck of cards and can slide apart
What are the 5 things something must have to be a mineral?
- Naturally occurring
- inorganic
- Solid at room temp
- crystal structure
- defined chemical composition
Minerals are the building blocks of what?
Rocks
what is crystal form?
a set of crystal faces that are related to each other by symmetry
Why is color of the mineral not a good indicator of the type of mineral that you have?
color can be highly variable. Some minerals can occur in a variety of different colors due to impurities in the chemical makeup of the mineral.
primordrial meaning?
From the beginning of time.
