Minerals

1. Minerals CH 2 Prentice Hall p. 47-54

2. A naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and definite chemical composition. Over 3,000 20 minerals form Earth’s crust. Rock forming minerals.

3. Must form through Earth’s processes. Cement, Brick, Steel and Glass all come from substances in Earth’s crust. But they are manufactured by people.

4. Cannot come from materials that were once part of living things. Coal- forms naturally, comes from the remains of plants and animals.

5. Always solid, with a definite volume and shape. Particles can’t flow freely.

6. Particles of a mineral line up in a repeating pattern. Forms a solid called a crystal. Has flat sides called faces, that meet at sharp edges and corners.

7. A mineral always contains certain elements in definite proportions. Element- a substance composed of a single kind of atom. All atoms of the same element have the same chemical and physical properties.

8. Compound- Two or more elements combined. Most minerals are compounds. Chemically joined. You can tell a compound by its chemical name like: NaCl for salt, Co2 for carbon dioxide

9. Mixture- consists of two or more substances that are mixed together but not chemically combined. (They can be sorted or seperated easily)

11. 1. Color is an easily observed physical property. Not the best property to use to identify because many minerals like quartz can come in a variety of colors.

12. Streak is the color of the minerals powder when it is rubbed against a Streak Plate This property does not vary like the color of the mineral can.

13. Metallic luster- looks like a metal. Non-Metallic Luster- does not look like a metal, can be glassy, dull, earthy, waxy and pearly.

14. Each mineral grows atom to atom to form that mineral’s particular structure. Classified into six groups (crystal systems) based on the number and angle of the crystal faces.

15. Cleavage- is a mineral that easily splits along flat surfaces.

16. Fracture- describes how a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way.

17. Fluorescence- glows under UV (ultraviolet light) Magnetic- acts like a magnet Radioactive- give off radiation- Uraninite Reacts to Acid- reacts by fizzing. Electrical Properties- electric current can be produced (Quartz) Used in watches

18. It is the mass in a given volume. It always remains the same for any given mineral.

19. A balance would be used to measure the mass of a sample. The sample can be placed in a graduated cylinder to determine the volume.

20. Water Displacement (how much water is moved, is equal to the volume of the sample) is used to determine the volume of the sample

21. One of the best clues. Mohs hardness scale. A scale from 1 to 10.