Minerals

Question 1

Mineral definition

Answer 1

Natural occurring substance, typically solid, has a crystalline structure, and is typically formed by inorganic processes. Minerals are the building blocks of most rocks.

Question 2

Mineraloids

Answer 2

Substances like coal, pearl, opal, or obsidian that do not fit the definition of mineral are called mineraloids (go through organic process)

Question 3

Rock

Answer 3

is a substance that contains one or more minerals or mineraloids

Question 4

Types of rocks: igneous

Answer 4

rocks crystallizing from molten material metamorphic (rocks produced by alteration of other rocks by heat and pressure.

Question 5

Types of rocks: Sedimentary

Answer 5

rocks composed of products of mechanical weathering (sand, gravel, etc.) and chemical weathering (things precipitated from solution)

Question 6

Types of rocks: Metamorphic

Answer 6

Rocks produced by alteration of other rocks by heat and pressure

Question 7

Isotope

Answer 7

An atom with different number of neutrons but the same protons.
Isotopes can have subtle changes between them, including radioactivity.

Question 8

Two highest occurring elements in earth’s crust are:

Answer 8

Oxygen (46%) and Silicon (28%)

Question 9

The mineral ________ has the chemical formula (Mg,Fe)2SiO4, in which one silicon and four oxygen atoms are bonded with two atoms of either magnesium or iron (the comma means they they can substitute for one another.

Answer 9

Olivine

Question 10

Also known as rock salt, or table salt. 3 cleavages at 90°, cubic crystal habit. Typically clear or white, hardness of 3.

Answer 10

Halite

Question 11

A specific chemical composition that forms different minerals and different temperatures and pressures.

Answer 11

Polymorph

Question 12

Marine invertebrates such as corals and clams precipitate aragonite or calcite for their shells and structures. Upon death, their hard parts accumulate on the ocean floor as sediments, and eventually may become the sedimentary rock ______, the vast majority is formed by this biological process.

Answer 12

limestone

Question 13

The largest group of minerals on Earth, comprising the majority of the Earth’s mantle and crust. (Of the nearly four thousand known minerals on Earth, most are rare.)

Answer 13

Silicates

Question 14

Silicate chemical structure:

Answer 14

tetrahedron
1 silicon
4 oxygen
-4 charge

Question 15

Most abundant mineral on earth’s surface (is a framework silicate)

Answer 15

Quartz

Question 16

Most abundant in earth’s crust (is a framework silicate)

Answer 16

Feldspar

Question 17

Common non-silicates:

Answer 17

Native Element Minerals
some non-reactive metals found in pure form such as gold, silver, copper

Non-metal:
1. oxides, halides, sulfides
2. carbonates (lime, cement - construction),
3. sulfates
4. phosphates (fertilizer, teeth, bones), 5.

Question 19

Vitreous

Answer 19

Glass like

Question 20

Adamantine

Answer 20

Diamond like

Question 21

How light reflects off the surface

Answer 21

Luster