Minerals? Flashcards
science
a process of getting a constantly closer approx. of physical reality
biogeography
the science of why animals & plants are where they are on earth (whether via overwater dispersal or tectonic vicariance)
scientific method
- observe
- question
- hypothesize
- experiment
- communicate findings
2 types of science
experimental and historical science
experimental science
uses controlled experiments to test hypotheses repeatedly
historical science
investigation into events that happened in the past
how science progresses
scientific revolutions
naturalistic evolution
a view of the origins of the universe that states all things came about by natural processes over a long period of time & all organisms can be traced back to a single common ancestor
naturalism
philosophy that all that exists can be observed by the senses and that only natural mechanisms are at play in the universe
uniformitarianism
philosophical approach to geology that only observed & measured processes and rates should be used to infer past geological events.
geology
the study of the solid earth (rocks, minerals, erosion, volcanoes, plate tectonics, the planet’s historical record etc.)
physical geology
the study of current geological materials & processes
historical geology
the attempt to determine distant past geological events
the types of geology
physical & historical geology
hydrology
the study of the storage & movement of water as it passes through different parts of the water cycle
the earth sciences
geology
hydrology
oceonography
earth’s 4 spheres
atmosphere
hydrosphere
geosphere
biosphere
atmosphere
the collection of gasses that surround earth and are held to it by gravity (the primary ones being oxygen and nitrogen)
atmospheric pressure
the measure of the amount of atmosphere over a particular place
hydrosphere
all the water on earth’s surface
geosphere
the solid, rocky components of earth
It’s the largest of all the “spheres” and stretches from the crust to the core
components of the geosphere
crust
mantle
core
components of the crust
oceanic & continental crust
oceanic crust
~60% of earth’s crust/surface
made of basalt & gabbro
less than 10 km thick
produced @ oceanic rifges by volcanic activity
continental crust
~40% of earth’s crust/surface
made of granite, diorite, & some sedimentary rocks
avg. 30km thick, 70km @ times
the largest single component of earth
mantle
components of the mantle
upper mantle (from bottom of crust down 670km)
lower mantle (from 670km below crust to 2890 km)
components of the upper mantle
lithosphere
asthenosphere
lithosphere
solid & brittle
combined crust & upper-most mantle
made of tectonic plates
asthenosphere
compositionally similar to lithosphere but has higher temperatures and so flows with a thick plasicity
composition of core
mostly iron with small amounts of nickel
Components/classifications(?) of the core
outer & inner core
outer core
is liquid and flows like water
the flow of iron is largely responsible for earth’s magnetic field
inner core
solid rather than liquid due to the accumulated pressure of everything surrounding it
biosphere
earth’s sphere of all living things
True or false: life on land is least diverse where temperatures are warm and water is plenty
FALSE: It’s MOST diverse in those conditions
resource
any material that can be used by people, usually in reference to materials, organisms, land, and energy
reserve
a resource that’s been determined to exist/has a good likelihood of existing in the resource area
proved reserve
a reserve known to exist & which can be recovered economically
mineral
A NATURALLY OCCURRING object that is a CRYSTALLINE SOLID, generally INORGANIC, has a DEFINITE CHEMICAL FORMULA, and SPECIFIC PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
synthetic minerals
minerals made in labs/by humans etc.
crystalline
solid @ earth’s surface & has a regular, repetitive framework that results from an organised set of atoms; it controls the shape of the mineral
mineraloids
atomically amorphous (i.e. non-crystalline) minerals [like opal or glass]
True or False: Old earth creationism (OEC) believes in a single ancestor for all life
False
Methods of OEC in the biblical text etc.
Gap theory
Day-age theory
progressive creation
inorganic
the products of physics & chemistry alone (generally) without the aid of biological agents (with some minor exceptions being biominerals such as the shells of clams)
True or False: Ice can be considered a mineral
True
True or False: Water can be considered a mineral
False
What it means for a mineral to have a definite chemical formula
a set of elements that characterises each mineral
differences between rocks and minerals
rocks can be an aggregate of 1(+) minerals, composed of mineraloids, and/or composed of solid organic matter
minerals often are the building blocks of rocks
atom
smallest particle of matter that can’t be split into smaller substances by chemical processes
positively charged ions
cations
negatively charged ions
anions
ion
an atom with a surplus or lack of electrons
parts of atom
nucleus (protons & neutrons) and electron cloud
quantum
the specific amount of energy an electron absorbs or releases to jump orbits
element
materials of characteristic physical and chemical properties that can’t be broken down into simpler substances by chemical processes
how the periodic table is arranged
by atomic number
atomic number
number of protons in an element
it’s determinative of that element
atomic mass
avg. sum of all the protons and neutrons of an element (including isotopes and the appropriate frequency of each)
isotopes
atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons
compounds
bonding of atoms, based on valence electrons
valence electrons
electrons in the outermost shell
when atoms are most stable
when valence shells have 8 electrons
most common types of bonds
covalent bond
ionic bond
metallic bond
hydrogen bond
[Van der Waals]
covalent bond
2(+) atoms share electrons to fill both valence shells
much stronger than ionic bonds
ionic bond
1(+) electrons transferred to another atom
metallic bond
valence electrons delocalised and shared among many atoms
not as strong as covalent bonds but stronger than ionic
hydrogen bonding
loose connections between weakly-charged regions of overall neutral molecules
a weak bond; makes polar molecules; creates water tension
Number of minerals that make up 90% of rocks on earth’s surface
9
types of mineral properties
optical properties
shape properties
mass-related properties
mechanical properties
[odour, taste, magnetism, fizzy reaction to acids, fluorescence]
types of optical properties
colour (can be misleading)
lustre
streak
double refraction
lustre
how light’s reflected off a mineral’s surface
2 types: metallic and non-metallic)
streak
a mineral’s colour when it is made finely powdered
double refraction
splitting light into two beams
an exclusive quality of calcite
crystal form/crystal habit
the geometric shape a mineral will naturally take if it’s given enough space in its growth
a type of shape property
polymorph
the same chemical that forms a different mineral based on its differently arranged atoms/molecules and the conditions of formation (e.g. graphite and diamond are both pure carbon)
specific gravity
the DENSITY of a substance divided by the DENSITY of water at 4°C
has no units
how heavy something feels to you given its size
types of mechanical properties
hardness
tenacity
cleavage plane
hardness
measures a mineral’s resistance to being scratched (using the Mohs’ scale)
tenacity
how easily a mineral can be broken or deformed (brittle, flexible, malleable, ductile, etc.)
cleavage plane
when a mineral breaks along a plane of weakness and produces a flat surface; can be good, fair, or excellent
fracture
when a mineral breaks with no sign of a cleavage plane; can be splintery, irregular, conchoidal
silicates
make up 92% of minerals in earth’s crust and all share the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron “building block”
mineral groups for non-silicates
halides
oxides
sulfides
sulfates
carbonates
native elements
halides
non-silicates with a halogen anion (e.g. halite & fluorite)
oxides
O²⁻ bonded to metal cation
sulfides
S²⁻ bonded to metal cation
sulfates
SO⁴⁻ bonded to metal cation
carbonates
CO₃²⁻ bonded to metal cation
native elements
minerals made of only one elements
e.g. gold, silver, copper, graphite, diamond
[silicon tetrahedron chemical formula]
[SiO₄]
examples of oxides
hematite (iron ore–can be magnetized but not naturally so]
magnetite (naturally magnetic iron ore)
limonite (a yellowish iron ore)
examples of sulfides
pyrite (fool’s gold)
galena (a heavy, silvery mineral; stinks when HCL is applied)
examples of sulfates
gypsum (a soft “evaporite” mineral)
examples of carbonates
calcite (the only mineral that naturally fizzes when acid is applied and the only mineral with double refraction [also has a polymorph called aragonite that’s used by many marine organisms in shell construction])
dolomite (a mineral that only fizzes with acid when it is made a powder)
mining
the recovery of solid metallic/non-metallic resources from rock or loose sediment
ores
metal-rich minerals
