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Geology > Minerals > Flashcards

Minerals Flashcards

1
Q

What is a mineral?

A

An element or chemical compound that is crystalline and that has formed as a result of geologic processes.

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2
Q

Minerals must:

A

Have a crystalline structure (an ordered atomic arrangement).
Be inorganic / naturally occurring

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3
Q

What are glasses?

A

Solids lacking internal atomic order. (Non-crystalline)

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4
Q

Obsidian

A

a hard, dark, glasslike volcanic rock formed by the rapid solidification of lava.

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5
Q

How does glass break?

A

Breaks with a conchoidal fracture, which is a curved breakage that resembles the concentric ripples of a mussel shell.

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6
Q

What are the crystals of gypsum?

A

They are the largest mineral crystals known and grew by

precipitation from the hot water that previously filled the cave.

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7
Q

Why do minerals fracture?

A

Minerals that have no lattice planes of weakness—

bonds equally strong in all directions—fracture instead of cleave.

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8
Q

What does “Stilbite” mean?

A

Greek… “TO SHINE”… refers to a mineral’s luster

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9
Q

What is Malachite?

A

A copper mineral.

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10
Q

What is Bismuth?

A

A synthetic mineral, created by humans.

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11
Q

Biogenic minerals

A

Formed by living organisms

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12
Q

What determines a mineral’s properties?

A
  1. The nature of bonding

2. The geometry of the atomic packing

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13
Q

Mineral Halite =

A

Salt

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14
Q

What are the two polymorphs of carbon?

A

Diamond (hardest) and Graphite (softest)

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15
Q

What affects mineral growth?

A

Space; room to grow.

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16
Q

Physical properties to describe a mineral…

A
  1. color
  2. streak
  3. hardness
  4. luster
  5. specific gravity
  6. crystal habit
  7. cleavage
17
Q

What is streak?

A

a property whereby a mineral leaves a crushed powder on an unglazed porcelain plate. (requires a hardness of less that 6 or so)

18
Q

What is luster?

A

a property that refers to the way that a mineral surface scatters light.

19
Q

What are the two subdivisions of luster?

A

metallic and nonmetallic (which has many subdivisions).

20
Q

What is hardness? and what is it linked to?

A

the scratching resistance of a mineral, which is directly linked to atomic-bond strength

21
Q

What is used to measure the hardness of a mineral?

A

The Mohs scale (Scaled from 1-10)

22
Q

The tendency for a mineral to break along lattice planes with weaker atomic bonds.

A

Cleavage

23
Q

How can one distinguish the difference between cleavage and crystal faces?

A

Cleavage is throughgoing; faces are on external crystal surfaces only.

24
Q

Examples of cleavage?

A
  • Muscovite (One direction)
  • Potassium Feldspar (Two directions at 90 degrees)
  • Amphibole (Two directions NOT at 90 degrees)
  • Halite (Three directions at 90 degrees)
  • Calcite (Three directions NOT at 90 degrees)
25
Q

How many crystal structures are there?

A

6

26
Q

What makes up a Silica tetrahedron?

A

4 oxygens, and 1 silicon (fundamental for silicate minerals)

27
Q

Olivines and Garnets are…

A

both silicate minerals with isolated tetrahedron (do not share oxygens…instead, bonded by cations)

28
Q

In single chain silicates, how many basal oxygens are bonded? What is the ratio?

A

2 of the 3 oxygens are bonded. The Si:O ratio is 1:3

29
Q

What are double-chain silicates?

A

two single chains that share oxygens where tetrahedra touch, yielding an Si:O ratio of 2:7

30
Q

What are sheet silicates?

A

Share oxygens along the base of the tetrahedra, but not the top. The Si:O is 4:11

31
Q

What are framework silicates?

A

all of the oxygens are shared between adjacent tetrahedra, yielding an Si:O ratio of 1:2.

32
Q

Example of a single chain silicate?
Double chain silicate?
Sheet silicate?
Framework silicates?

A

Pyroxene (single chain)
Amphiboles (Double chain)
Micas and Clays (Sheet silicate)
Quartz and Feldspar (Framework silicate)

33
Q

Why are crystal structures limited to six?

A

Topology

Geology (21 decks)

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