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52 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are the characteristics of minerals? |
naturally occurring (in nature), inorganic (not living), solid, a definite chemical composition, & an orderly arrangement of atoms |
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What are the 2 main family of rock forming minerals? |
silicates & non-silicate |
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What are silicates? |
mineral group that has silicon and oxygen in it. |
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What are non-silicates? |
minerals that do not contain silicon |
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What is crystallization? |
when particles dissolved in a liquid or a melt solidify and form crystals |
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How can minerals come from cool solutions? |
As water moves over or into the ground it can dissolve minerals from the soil. Also, sea animals can use salts from seawater to make shells or coral. |
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How can minerals come from hot solutions? |
changes in pressure & temperature can work with erosion to break minerals down and form new minerals. |
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What is magma? |
molten rock below ground |
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What is lava? |
molten rock above ground |
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What is a mineralogist? |
scientists who study minerals |
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Know the different properties of minerals? |
color, streak, luster, hardness, cleavage & fracture, and density. |
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Why can you not depend on color to determine a mineral? |
Minerals may change color due to weathering and several different minerals can have the same color and some minerals can have more than 1 color due to impurities. |
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What is luster? |
The way a mineral reflects or absorbs light at its surface |
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Name different types of luster? |
metallic or nonmetallic . Nonmetallic luster includes waxy, glassy, silky, pearly, earthy (dull) |
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What is streak? |
The color of a mineral in powdered form when scratched on porcelain tile. |
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Why is streak more reliable than color? |
Outside color can change due to weathering. The streak comes from inside the mineral and is more reliable. It is only useful for minerals softer than porcelain. |
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What is hardness? |
The resistance of a mineral to being scratched. |
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Describe Mohs’ hardness scale? |
. A scale that compares the hardness of different minerals. The scale goes from 1 - 10. 1 (talc) is the softest mineral and 10 (diamond) is the hardest. |
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What is cleavage? |
when minerals break with smooth, flat surfaces |
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What is fracture? |
When a mineral breaks and forms uneven surfaces. |
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What is density? |
mass divided by volume of an object |
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Name the special properties used to identify minerals? |
. texture, chemical reactivity, smell, fluorescence, magnetism |
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What is an ore? |
Rock that contains high enough concentrations of a substance to mine it for profit. |
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What is a gemstone? |
a rare and attractive mineral that can be worn as jewelry |
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What is a rock? |
natural, solid mixture of minerals or grains |
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How are rocks classified? |
by texture and composition |
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What is texture? |
The grain size and the way grains fit together in a rock |
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What is composition? |
What minerals make up a rock |
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Scientists place rocks in groups based on? |
how they form |
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Name the 3 groups of rocks? |
igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary |
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How is igneous rock formed? |
when magma or lava cools and crystallizes |
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Where can igneous rock form? |
subduction zones, mid-ocean ridges, & hot spots where volcanoes are common |
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What is sediment? |
rock material that forms where rocks are broken down into smaller pieces or dissolved in water as rocks erode. |
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Where do sedimentary rocks form? |
where sediment is deposited- rivers & streams, deserts, beach, valleys. |
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What is the rock cycle? |
The series of processes that change one type of rock into another type or rock |
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What are the 2 types of igneous rock? |
intrusive and extrusive |
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What is intrusive igneous rock? |
rock formed from magma cooling underground |
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What is extrusive igneous rock? |
rock formed from lava cooling above ground |
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Intrusive rocks usually have grains? |
coarse or large |
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Extrusive rocks usually have grains? |
fine or small |
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What is compaction? |
The weight from the layers of sediment force out fluids and decrease the space between grains |
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What is cementation? |
Minerals dissolved in water crystallize between sediment grains |
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How are sedimentary rocks formed? |
sediments, rock fragments, minerals or organic materials are deposited, compacted, and cemented together. |
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Name the 3 types of sedimentary rocks? |
Clastic, biochemical and chemical |
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What are clastic rock? |
sedimentary rocks made up of broken pieces of minerals and rock fragments |
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What are clasts? |
broken pieces and fragments of rocks |
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What are chemical rocks? |
sedimentary rocks that crystallize directly from water |
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What are biochemical rocks? |
sedimentary rock that was formed by organisms or contains the remains of organisms |
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How are metamorphic rocks formed? |
rocks formed deep within Earth’s crust from high temperature and pressure |
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How are metamorphic rocks classified? |
based on texture- foliated & nonfoliated |
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What are foliated rocks? |
metamorphic rocks that contain parallel layers of flat and elongated minerals |
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What are nonfoliated rocks? |
metamorphic rocks that have mineral grains with a random, interlocking texture |
