MINERALS Flashcards
The most abundant mineral group on Earth is the
silicates
The building block of the silicate minerals is called the
silicon-oxygen tetrahedron.
When a mineral specimen is scraped along a ceramic plate to observe the color of its powder, the physical property being checked is
streak
Which type of bond would you expect to find in gold?
metallic
Which mineral group is composed of tetrahedrons?
silicates
The tendency of a mineral to break along certain planes to make smooth surfaces is called what?
cleavage
Which of the following is a mineral?
Salt (NaCl)
Which type of bond involves the sharing of electrons?
covalent
Crystalline rocks
are rocks whose grains grew to interlock.
Rocks that form at or near Earth’s surface by the cementing of grains or precipitation from water are
sedimentary
The nucleus is composed of which two subatomic particles?
protons and neutrons
Which two elements are the scarcest in the crust?
potassium and magnesium
Which of the following is NOT a mineral?
petroleum
Minerals are all naturally occurring solid substances with a definable chemical composition. They must also possess
a fixed crystalline structure
Cleavage in minerals refers to
a tendency to break along planes of weakness.
Which of the following minerals is more commonly known as table salt?
halite
Which of the following minerals is a silicate?
olivine
Using the Mohs hardness scale below, which of the following statements is FALSE?
Diamonds are twice as hard as apatite.
Natural glass is NOT considered a mineral because it
does not have a fixed crystalline structure.
The mineral olivine is in the __________ mineral class.
silicate
Trace amounts of impurity in a mineral can commonly produce significant differences in __________ among individual crystals of this mineral.
color
With regard to minerals, hardness refers to the ability to resist
being scratched.
Potassium feldspar (KAlSi3O8) is in which mineral class?
silicates
Which class of minerals is highly conductive because of metallic bonding?
native metals
Which of the following is NOT true about minerals?
All minerals are compounds of more than one element.
The tetrahedral structure that forms the backbone of all silicate minerals is composed of silicon and what other element?
oxygen
Which of the following common minerals is softest?
talc
The image below shows a mineral with hydrochloric acid applied to it. What mineral is this? (has gas bubbles)
calcite
The __________ class of minerals includes a substance commonly known as table salt.
halides
The mineral class that makes up more than 95% of rocks in the continental crust is termed the
silicates
Calcite (CaCO3) is in which mineral class?
carbonates
Pyrite (FeS2) is in which mineral class?
sulfides
