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EARTH SCI > MINERALS AND ROCKS > Flashcards

MINERALS AND ROCKS Flashcards

1
Q

fundamental components of rocks

A

Minerals

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2
Q

naturally occurring inorganic substances with a specific chemical composition and an orderly repeating atomic structure that defines a crystal structure

A

Minerals

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3
Q

most abundant components of rocks on the Earth’s surface

A

Silicate minerals

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4
Q

fundamental chemical building block of silicate minerals

A

Silicon tetroxide, SiO4

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5
Q

How many are the naturally occurring elements

A

92

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6
Q

how many elements are the most common on the earths crust

A

8

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7
Q

8 most common elements on the Earth’s crust

A

Oxygen
Silicon
Aluminum
Iron
Calcium
Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium

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8
Q

% Oxygen

A

46.6%

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9
Q

% Silicon

A

27.7%

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10
Q

% Aluminum

A

8.1%

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11
Q

Iron

A

5.0%

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12
Q

Calcium

A

3.6%

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13
Q

% Sodium

A

2.8%

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14
Q

% Potassium

A

2.6%

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15
Q

% Magnesium

A

2.1%

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16
Q

What are the physical properties of minerals

A

Hardness
Luster
Color
Cleavage
Fracture
Relative Density

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17
Q

essential building blocks of the geosphere

A

Minerals and rocks

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18
Q

There are over _____ species of minerals

A

3,000

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19
Q

A cycle that rocks gradually are transformed from one type to another

A

the Rock Cycle

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20
Q

what are the Common Rock forming Minerals

A
  1. Quartz
  2. Plagioclase feldspar
  3. Alkali feldspar
  4. Micas
  5. Amphiboles
  6. Pyroxene
  7. Olivine
  8. Calcite
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21
Q

usually called silica

A

Quartz

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22
Q

one of the most common minerals in the earth’s crust

A

Quartz

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23
Q

usually hexagonal and prismatic in shape

A

quartz crystals

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24
Q

raw material used for making glass

A

quartz

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25
Q

sodium or calcium rich feldspar

A

plagioclase feldspar

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26
Q

generally white to grey and has a vitreous luster

A

plagioclase feldspar

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27
Q

important industrial mineral used in ceramics

A

plagioclase feldspar

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28
Q

rich in alkali metal ions

A

Alkali feldspar

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29
Q

made up of silicon dioxide (SiO2)

A

quartz

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30
Q

used as raw material to make porcelain

A

Alkali feldspar

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31
Q

form flat, book-like crystals that split into individual sheets, separating into smooth flakes along the cleavage planes

A

Micas

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32
Q

They are common minerals in intrusive igneous rocks, and can be found in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks

A

Micas

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33
Q

is a dark, black or brown mica

A

Biotite

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34
Q

light colored or clear mica

A

muscovite

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35
Q

form prismatic or needle-like crystals

A

Amphiboles

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36
Q

common member of the amphibole group of rock-forming minerals

A

Hornblende

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37
Q

form short columnar prismatic crystals

A

Pyroxenes

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38
Q

generally contain iron, magnesium, calcium and aluminum as well as silicon, oxygen and water

A

Amphiboles

39
Q

generally contains magnesium, iron, calcium and aluminum as well as silicon and oxygen

40
Q

contains iron and magnesium

41
Q

is a green, glassy material

42
Q

is common in mafic and ultramafic rocks, but has not been found in Hong Kong

43
Q

made up of calcium carbonate

44
Q

generally white to clear, and is easily scratched with knife

45
Q

common sedimentary mineral that is the major component of calcareous sedimentary rocks such as limestone

46
Q

metamorphism of limestone produces ____

47
Q

metamorphism of _____ produces marble

48
Q

are naturally occurring aggregates of minerals, rock fragments, or organic matter

49
Q

Rocks are classified into 3 main types:

A
  1. Igneous Rocks
  2. Sedimentary Rocks
  3. Metamorphic Rocks
50
Q

2 important characteristics that may help to confirm the origin of a rock

A

Texture and mineral composition

51
Q

2 important characteristics that may help to confirm the origin of a rock

A

Texture and mineral composition

52
Q

refers to the size and shapes of the component minerals or grains and to their collective arrangement in a rock

53
Q

refers to the crystals, minerals or grains, and/or fossils, that make up a rock

A

Composition

54
Q

It also refers to the chemical constituents of a rock

A

composition

55
Q

form when hot, molten rock (magma) cools and solidifies

A

Igneous rocks

56
Q

originates deep within the Earth near active plate boundaries or hot spots, then rises toward the surface

57
Q

Sub-divided Igneous Rocks

A
  1. Intrusive rocks
  2. Extrusive rocks
58
Q

are formed when rising magma is trapped deep within the Earth, where it cools very slowly over many thousands or million of years until it finally solidifies

A

Intrusive Igneous Rocks

59
Q

Other words for Intrusive Igneous Rocks

60
Q

have coarse-grained texture with interlocking minerals

A

Intrusive rocks

61
Q

commonly occurring intrusive rock in Hong Kong

62
Q

are produced when magma is erupted at, or very near, the Earth’s surface

A

Extrusive Igneous rocks

63
Q

Other term for Extrusive Igneous Rocks

64
Q

2 common volcanic rocks

A

Lava and Tuff

65
Q

contain predominantly feldspar and quartz minerals, with subordinate amphiboles and micas

A

Granitic rocks

66
Q

occur as plutons, dykes or sills

A

Granitic rocks

67
Q

may contain larger crystals (phenocrysts) within the fine-grained groundmass

68
Q

may display a flow fabric

69
Q

contains fragments of minerals, glass, pumice and/or pre-existing rocks

70
Q

is classified on the basis of the relative components of the various fragments

71
Q

generally angular and broken

72
Q

is commonly dark grey in color when the rock is unweathered

73
Q

are formed from eroded fragments of pre-existing rocks, or from skeletal fragments of once-living plants or organisms

A

Sedimentary Rocks

74
Q

commonly have distinctive layering or bedding

A

Sedimentary Rocks

75
Q

Sedimentary rocks are subdivided into 3 groups

A
  1. Clastic
  2. Biological
  3. Chemical
76
Q

are made up of fragments (clasts) of pre-existing rocks

A

Clastic sedimentary rocks

77
Q

is formed when the sediment is buried, then compacted and cemented

A

Clastic sedimentary rocks

78
Q

form when large quantities of living plants or organisms die and accumulate

A

Biological Sedimentary Rocks

79
Q

are formed by chemical precipitation from solutions

A

Chemical sedimentary rocks

80
Q

This process begins when water passes through rock dissolving some of the minerals and carrying them away from their source

A

Chemical sedimentary rocks

81
Q

is an aggregate of silt-sized grains

82
Q

composed of sand-sized grains

83
Q

are formed when a pre-existing rock is subject to high temp, high pressure, hot and mineral-rich fluid, or a combination of these conditions

A

Metamorphic Rocks

84
Q

replaced by new minerals and the original textures are commonly masked due to the deformation that may accompany metamorphism

A

Metamorphic Rocks

85
Q

generally formed deep within the Earth, or where tectonic plates meet

A

Metamorphic Rocks

86
Q

exhibit a platy or sheet-like structure

A

Foliated metamorphic rocks

87
Q

develops when platy or prismatic minerals within the rock are compressed and aligned under extreme pressure

88
Q

display a massive structure

A

Non-foliated metamorphic rocks

89
Q

can be formed by contact metamorphism that occurs around intrusive igneous rocks

A

non-foliated metamorphic rocks

90
Q

examples of non foliated metamorphic rocks

A

Quartzite and marble

91
Q

conceptual model that explains how geological processes acting in any one of the three main rock types can change one rock type to another over geological time

A

The Rock Cycle

92
Q

is the driving force of the Rock Cycle

A

Plate tectonics

93
Q

What are the Rock forming processes

A
  1. Igneous rock-forming processes involve melting, cooling and crystallization
  2. Sedimentary rock-forming processes involve weathering, erosion, deposition, burial and lithification
  3. Metamorphic rock forming processes involve changed to rock textures and mineral compositions under different temperature, pressure or hot fluid conditions
94
Q

Explain the rock cycle

EARTH SCI (3 decks)

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