Chapter 4: Minerals

Front 1

Atom

Back 1

Smallest unit of an element that retains the physical and chemical properties of that element

Front 2

Bedding

Back 2

The formation of parallel layers or beds of sediment as particles are deposited

Front 3

Chemical Bond

Back 3

When a chemical compound is formed by negative electrons and positive protons

Front 4

Chemical Reaction

Back 4

Interactions of the atoms of two or more chemical elements in a certain fixed proportions that produce chemical compounds through electron sharing or transfer

Front 5

Cleavage

Back 5

The tendency of a crystal to split along planar structures

Front 6

Color

Back 6

Imparted by light, either transmitted or through reflected by crystals or irregular masses of the mineral or a streak of mineral powder

Front 7

Contact Metamorphism

Back 7

Metamorphism resulting from heat and pressure in a small area, as in rocks in contact with and near an igneous intrusion

Front 8

Crystal

Back 8

An ordered 3D array of atoms in which the basic arrangements is repeated in all directions

Front 9

Crystal Habit

Back 9

The shape in which a minerals individual crystals or aggregates of crystals grow

Front 10

Crystallization

Back 10

The formation of a solid mineral from a gas or liquid whose constituent atoms come together in the proper chemical proportions and ordered 3D arrangement

Front 11

Density

Back 11

Mass per volume

grams/Cm3

Front 12

Erosion

Back 12

The set of processes that loosen soil and rock and move them downhill or downstream

Front 13

Extrusive Igneous Rock

Back 13

A fine-grained or glassy igneous rock formed from magma that erupts at Earth's surface as lava and cools rapidly

Front 14

Foliation

Back 14

A set or wavy parallel cleavage planes produced by deformation under directed pressure; typical of regionally metamorphosed rock

Front 15

Fracture

Back 15

The tendency of a crystal to break along irregular surfaces other than cleavage planes

Front 16

Hardness

Back 16

A measure of the ease with which the surface of a mineral can be scratched

Front 17

Hydrothermal Solution

Back 17

A hot water solution formed when circulating groundwater or seawater comes into contact with a hot magmatic intrusion, reacts with it, and carries off significant quantities of elements and ions released by the reaction, which may be deposited later as ore minerals

Front 18

Igneous Rock

Back 18

A rock formed by the solidification of magma

Front 19

Intrusive Igneous Rock

Back 19

A coarse-grained igneous rock formed from magma that intrudes into country rock deep in Earths crust and cools slowly

Front 20

Ion

Back 20

An atom or group of atoms that has an electrical charge either positive or negative, because of the loss or gain of one or more electrons

Front 21

Isotope

Back 21

One or more forms of atoms of the same element that have different number of neutrons and therefore different atomic masses

Front 22

Lithification

Back 22

The conversion of sediment into solid rock by compaction and cementation

Front 23

Luster

Back 23

The way the surface of a mineral reflects light

Front 24

Magma

Back 24

Hot, molten rock

Front 25

Metamorphic Rock

Back 25

Rock formed by high temperatures and pressures that causes changes in the mineralogy texture, or chemical composition of any kind of preexisting rock while maintaining its solid form

Front 26

Mineral

Back 26

A naturally occurring, solid crystalline substance, generally inorganic, with a specific chemical composition

Front 27

Mineralogy

Back 27

The branch of geology that studies the composition, structure, appearance, stability, occurrence, and associations of minerals

Front 28

Mohs Scale of Hardness

Back 28

An ascending scale of mineral hardness based on the ability of one mineral to scratch another

Front 29

Ore

Back 29

A mineral deposit form which valuable metals can be recovered profitability

Front 30

Polymorph

Back 30

One or more alternative possible crystal structures for a single chemical compound

Example: SiO2

Front 31

Regional Metamorphism

Back 31

Metamorphism caused by high pressures and temperatures that extend over large regions, typically convergent boundaries, where two continents collide

Front 32

Rock

Back 32

A naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals, or in some cases non-mineral solid matter

Front 33

Rock Cycle

Back 33

The set of geologic processes that convert rocks of each of three major types-igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic- into two types

Front 34

Sediment

Back 34

Material deposited on Earths surface by physical agents, chemical agents, or biological agents

Front 35

Sedimentary Rock

Back 35

A rock formed by the burial and diagenesis of layers of sediment

Front 36

Specific Gravity

Back 36

The weight of a substance divided by the weight of an equal volume of pure water at 4 degrees Celsius

Front 37

Streak

Back 37

The color of the fine deposit of mineral powder left on an abrasive surface when a mineral is scraped across it

Front 38

Texture

Back 38

The size and shapes of a rocks mineral crystals and the way they are put together

Front 39

Vein

Back 39

A sheetlike deposit of minerals precipitated in fractures or joints in country rock, often by a hydrothermal solution

Front 40

Weathering

Back 40

The processes by which rocks are broken down at Earths surface to produce sediment particles