The Solid Earth - Chapter 1: Minerals Flashcards
Practically every manufactured product contains materials obtained from _____.
Minerals
An aggregate of one or more material
Rock
____ implies that the minerals are found together as a mixture in which the properties of the individual minerals are retained
Aggregate
True or false: certain minerals, along with impurities, are commonly found by themselves in large quantities and in these instances are considered to be rocks.
True
A naturally occurring inorganic solid that possesses a definite chemical structure
Mineral
Four rules of minerals
Naturally occurring
Inorganic
Solid
Definite Chemical Structure
Minerals, like all matter, are made of ____
Elements
Name two minerals that are made of entirely one element
Gold and sulphur
Most minerals are a combination of two or more ____ joined to form a chemically stable compound
Elements
The smallest part of matter that still retains characteristics of an element
Atom
What does the combining in elements forming compounds?
Atoms
Central region of atom
Nucleus
Positively charged subatomic particles; dense
Protons
Dense subatomic particles with no charge
Neutrons
Subatomic particles that orbit the nucleus and carry a negative charge
Electron
What determines the atomic number of an element?
Number of protons
True or false: since uncombined atoms have the same number of electrons as protons, the atomic number also equals the number of electrons surrounding the nucleus
True
True or false: neutrons have a charge
False
Elements combine with each other to form a wide variety of more complex substances called ____
Compounds
A substance composed of two or more elements bonded together in definite proportions
Compound
The forces that bond atoms are ____ in nature
Electrical
When an atom combines chemically, it either gains, loses, or shares ____ with another atom
Electron
Atoms that have an electrical charge because of a gain or loss of electrons are called _____
ions
____ charged ions attract one another and produce a neutral chemical compound
Oppositely
This can be determined by totaling the number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus
Mass number
True or false: two atoms of an element can have differing numbers of neutrons and therefore different mass numbers
True
Atoms of an element with a different mass number
Isotope
A common element that has isotopes with mass numbers of 12 and 14
carbon
All atoms of the same type do have the same number of ____
protons
The term commonly used to express the average of the atomic masses of isotopes for a given element
Atomic weight
_____ isotopes are isotopes that go through a process of natural disintegration
unstable
the process that occurs when the forces that bind the nucleus are not strong enough
Radioactivity
The rate at which the unstable nuclei break apart is measurable and makes isotopes useful for ______
dating events of earth’s history
Each mineral has an orderly arrangement of ____
atoms
What is another name for the arrangement of atoms in a mineral?
Crystalline structure
The external expression of a mineral that reflects the orderly internal arrangement of atoms
Crystal form
Why might a crystal with well-formed crystal faces develop?
A mineral forms without space restrictions
Most of the time crystal growth is interrupted because of _________
competition for space
What is an obvious feature of a mineral that is an unreliable diagnostic property?
Color
When a mineral exhibits a variety of colors it is said to possess
Exotic coloration
Exotic coloration is usually caused by the inclusion of _____
impurities
Minerals that have fairly consistent coloration as a result of chemical make up are said to have
Inherent coloration
The color of a mineral in its powdered form, obtained by rubbing the mineral across unglazed porcelain
Streak
The unglazed porcelain used to test streak
Streak plate
Which property can be used to distinguish minerals with metallic vs nonmetallic lusters?
Streak
The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral
Luster
Lusters described as metal
metallic
Lusters described as pearly, silky, dull
Nonmetallic
A measure of the resistance of a mineral to abrasion or scratching
Hardness
The numerical scale of hardness
Mohs
Mohs scale from 1-10
Talc Gypsum Calcite Fluorite Apatite Orthoclase Quartz Topaz Corudum Diamond
A mineral can or cannot be scratched by something less hard
Cannot
The tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding that exist between atoms in the crystalline structure
Cleavage
An example of a mineral with excellent cleavage that breaks in thin, flat sheets
Micas
The number of different sets of plans exhibited/the angles at which the planes meet
Cleavage
Minerals that do not exhibit cleavage are said to
fracture
Minerals that break into smooth curved surfaces resembling broken glass have
Conchoidal fracture
A number that represents the ratio of the weight of a mineral to the weight of an equal volume of water
Specific gravity
The average specific gravity for minerals
2.7
Halite has a ___ taste
salty
Gold is _____ and can be easily shaped
malleable
Talc and graphite both have distinctive ____
feels
If a mineral can be picked up with a magnet, it might have a high ____
iron content
An optical property of calcite that double letters when it is on top
double refraction
Some minerals (like carbonates) will fizz with a small drop of dilute ________ and might indicate calcite
hydrochloric acid
A few dozen minerals are abundant and collectively make up the rocks of the earth’s crust. Therefore, they are called
rock-forming minerals
The bulk of rock-forming minerals are made up of ______ elements
8
The two most abundant elements
Silicone
Oxygen
When silicone and oxygen combine, they form the most common mineral group _____
Silicates
What is the basic building block of all silicate materials?
The silicon-oxygen tetrahedron
What are the 5 elements that join silicate structures?
Iron Magnesium Potassium Sodium Calcium
When do most silicate minerals form?
When molten rock cools and crystallizes
Dark silicates contain ions of __________
Iron and/or magnesium
Dark silicates have a specific gravity greater than ___
3
An important rock-forming group is the _____ which is nonsilicate
carbonates
What is CaCO3?
Calcite
What mineral is a major constituent of limestone and marble?
Calcite
Two nonsilicate minerals frequently found in rocks besides the carbonates?
Halite
Gypsum
Name the types of minerals that are silicate
Olivine Augite Hornblende Micas Feldspars Quartz
What is SiO2?
Quartz
Name two types of micas
Biotite
Muscovite
