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14 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is a mineral? |
Any naturally occuring inorganic solid that possesses an orderly crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition that allows for some variation. |
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What is a rock? |
Is any solid mess of mineral or mineral like water that occurs naturally as part of our planet |
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What are the physical properties? |
Luster, streak, color, Crystal shape, hardness, cleavage, fracture, and specific gravity |
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What is luster? |
The appearance of light reflected from the surface of a mineral. |
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Types of Luster |
Metallic Nonmetallic: vitreous (glassy), dull or earthy, pearly, silky, or greasy |
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What is color and streak? |
Color is not a reliable method. The streak, the color of a mineral in powdered form. Obtained by running it across a streak plate |
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Types of Crystal Shape/habit |
Bladed (flat, elongated strips), fibrous (hairlike) Tabular (tablet shaped) Granular (aggregates of small crystal) Blocky (square) Banded (layered) |
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What is hardness? |
A measure of the resistance of a mineral to abrasion or scratching. |
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What is cleavage? |
Break along these planes of weak bonding. |
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Cleavage Plane/surfaces |
Minerals exhibit cleavage have smooth flat surfaces. |
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How to determine cleavage? |
Rotate mineral in bright light and look for flat surfaces that reflect light. |
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Fracture |
Minerals that do not exhibit cleavage when broken. Irregular Splinter Conchoidal |
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Other Properties of Minerals |
Magnetism Taste Odor Feel Striations Reaction to dilute hydrochloric acid- will fizz to release CO2 e.g calcite Tenacity- describes a minerals resistance to breaking or deforming Opaque- no light transmitted Translucent- light but no image Transparent- light & image visible |
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Important Rock Forming Minerals |
Feldspar group, quartz, Mica, clay minerals, Olivine, pyroxene group, amphibole group, & calcite |
