Minerals

Question 1

What is Granite

Answer 1

makes up the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Commonly used for countertops. Quartz, Hornblende and Orthoclase make up granite.

Question 1

What is a rock?

Answer 1

Rocks are aggregates of minerals.

Question 2

Earth and its elements

Answer 2

Minerals are the solid manifestation of these elements and their combinations.

Question 3

What are native elements?

Answer 3

Some elements occur in their native (pure) state. These minerals consist of a single element. Examples are copper and iron (meteorite)

Question 4

What is Native carbon?

Answer 4

Native carbon takes one of two forms. One is more valuable than the other. Native carbon: Graphite
Native carbon: Diamond. Increase pressure is what pushes from graphite to diamond.

Question 5

How is a mineral defined?

Answer 5

-Naturally occurring chemical compound
-Solid
-Crystalline (ordered) internal structure
-inorganic
-distinctive chemical formula

Question 6

Naturally occurring chemical compounds

Answer 6

Chemical compounds are naturally occurring if formed by natural processes. If the compound can only be formed synthetically in a laboratory, then it is not naturally occurring. Example: Iceberg, naturally occurring. Bag of ice, NOT naturally occurring.

Question 7

Minerals can only be SOLID

Answer 7

Minerals can only be solids. Liquids and gases need not apply. Solid water (ice) would count. Solid H20.

Question 8

Crystalline internal structure

Answer 8

Crystalline (ordered) internal structure must be predictable and repeatable.

Question 9

Organic and Inorganic materials

Answer 9

Examples Inorganic: Quartz geode (SiO2) Diamond (c)

Examples: Organic Sugar crystals. Glucose (C6H12O6) Fructose (C6H12O6) Sucrose (C12H22O11)

Question 10

Inorganic material made from organisms

Answer 10

You can call those minerals
Examples: Sea shells (CaCO3) Shark Teeth (CaPO4)

Question 11

Minerals have distinctive chemical compositions that give them distinctive physical properties.

Answer 11

Optical properties: Luster, Color, Streak
Mineral Strength: Hardness, Cleavage, Fracture

Question 12

The way a mineral reflects light is called luster.

Answer 12

Luster is described as metallic or nonmetallic.

Metallic luster: Galena, Gold.

Non-metallic luster: Quartz, Diamonds.

Question 13

The color of a mineral is easy to observe, however, its often the least diagnostic property.

Answer 13

The color of a powered mineral is its streak. Metallic minerals leave behind a streak that is often different from the mineral crystal color.

Question 14

A mineral’s hardness refers to its resistance to scratching measured relative to other minerals.

Answer 14

1-Talc, 2-Gypsum, 3-Calcite, 4-Fluroite, 5-Apatite, 6-Orthoclase, 7-Quartz, 8-Topaz, 9-Corundum, 10-Diamond.

A harder mineral will always scratch a softer mineral: Fingernail (2.5), Copper Penny (3.5), Wire nail (4.5), Glass and knife blade (5.5), Streak plate (6.5). Shark tooth (5), Stainless Steel (5.5), Polish paste (6), Dental drill (9.5)

Question 15

Cleavage

Answer 15

Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding. Planes of cleavage create flat mineral surfaces.

Planes of cleavage = flat sides divided by 2
2 flat slides =1 plane (muscovite)
4 flat sides = 2 planes (orthoclase)
6 flat sides =3 planes (Halite)
8 = flat sides =4 planes (Diamonds)

Question 16

Minerals that have ZERO cleavage

Answer 16

Minerals that have zero directions of cleavage, meaning no cleavage, have no distinct shape. Olivine is a good example of zero cleavage.

Quartz does not have cleavage, but they do have a fracture to them, leaving a jagged edge. Fracture occurs in the absence of cleavage. Most minerals fractures are irregular. Some fracture smoothly like glass.

Question 17

Conchoidal fractures

Answer 17

produce knife-sharp edges.

Question 18

Mineral Calcite

Answer 18

The mineral calcite will fizz when in contact with a weak acid (HCl). Only the mineral calcite will behave this way.

Calcite is the most common carbonate mineral. Calcite is known for fizzing in a weak acid.

Question 19

Halite

Answer 19

Taste Salty

Question 20

4000 identified minerals

Answer 20

Only a handful of them are actually common.

Question 21

Silicates

Answer 21

Silicon (27.7%) and oxygen (46.6%) are the two most abundant elements in the earth’s crust. These 2 elements make up a group of minerals called the silicates.

Question 22

silicon oxygen tetrahedron

Answer 22

Silicate minerals consist of oxygen and silicon atoms arranged into a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron. 1 silicon atom is surrounded by 4 oxygen atoms.

Question 23

Igneous rocks

Answer 23

Igneous rocks form from the cooling of magma (inside the earth) or lava (surface of the earth)

Silicate minerals are the building blocks for all igneous rocks around the world. Most magmas generate only a few minerals.

Question 24

Iron Rich and Iron poor minerals

Answer 24

Iron-rich minerals (dark colored): Olivine, augite, hornblende

Iron poor minerals (light colored) Muscovite, Potassium feldspar, Quartz

Question 25

Olivine

Answer 25

found in basalt of the ocean crust and is the most common mineral in the mantle.

Question 26

Augite

Answer 26

black mineral that gives basalt of the ocean crust its distinctive black color.

Question 27

Hornblende

Answer 27

found in granites and provides their black colored mineral component

Question 28

Muscovite

Answer 28

found in granites and is the mineral that makes them sparkle in the sun.

Question 29

Orthoclase

Answer 29

found in granites and is the pink or salmon mineral that gives them their color

Question 30

Quartz

Answer 30

found in granites and makes up the white or gray mineral component of the rock

Question 31

NON silicate minerals

Answer 31

lack silicon oxygen tetrahedra, but are still common on earth.

Carbonates, Sulfates, Halides, Iron Oxides

Most non-silicate minerals do not from from magma, but rather form at earths surface.

Question 32

Building stone preservation

Answer 32

Minerals affect building stone preservation. Rocks made of the mineral calcite, like marble, will dissolve in acidic rain water. Example: Marble gravestone, would rather have granite gravestone

Question 33

Gypsum

Answer 33

most common sulfate mineral. Gypsum is soft and used for plaster and dry wall

useful because it is fire resistant. Gypsum contains water in its mineral structure that must evaporate before it will catch fire.

Question 34

Hematite

Answer 34

the most common iron oxide mineral. Hematite is the same thing as rusted iron

Question 35

Hawaiian islands

Answer 35

made of iron-rich minerals. Over time these rocks are exposed to water and oxygen and begin to rust into hematite. Example: Waipo’o falls, Kauai.

Question 36

Sandstone

Answer 36

is made of the mineral quartz.