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54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Why study minerals?
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minerals are the building blocks of our planet. Minerals make up rocks
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What is mineralogy?
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The study of minerals
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What is a mineral?
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is a nauturally occuring solid
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Naturally Occuring
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minerals are produced in nature
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Solid
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a solid state of matter that can maintain its shape indefinately. Liquids and gases are not minerals
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Crystalline Structure
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Atoms tha tmake up a mineral are not distributed randomly and cannot move around easily. Atoms are fixed in an orderly pattern. Mineralogist refer to the pattern itself. crystaline lattuce
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Definable Chemical Composition
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it is possible to write a chemical formula for a mineral. Some minerals contain only one elements. Most are compounds of two or more.
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Inorganic
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Organic chemicals are molecules containg carbon-hydrogen bonds. Almost all minerals are inorganic. 30 of the are formed thru geologic processes on organic materials.
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What defines a mineral?
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1. must have an orderly arrangement of atoms inside
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Element
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A pure substant thst csnnot be separated into other elements
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Atom
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The smallest piece of an element that retains the charateristics of an element. An atom consists of mucleaus surrounded be a cloud of orbiting electons; the nucleus is made up of protons and neutrons (except in hydrogen). Exctons have a negatice charge
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Atomic Number
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numer of protons in an atom of an element.
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Atomic Weight
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Approx the # of protons plus neutrons in an atom of an element
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Ion
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an atom that is not neutral. An ion that has an excess negative charge (because it has more electrons than protons) is an anion
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Chemical bond
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an attractive force that holds 2 or ore attoms together.
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Molecule
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2 or more atoms bonded together. Atoms may be of the same element or different
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Compound
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a pure substance that can be subdivided into 2 or more elements.
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Chemical Formula
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a shorthand recipe thaat itemizes the various elements in a chemical and specifies their relative proportions.
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Chemical reaction
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a process that involves the breaking or forming of chemical bonds.
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Mixture
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a combination of two or more elements or compounds that can be separated without a chemical reaction. EX bran flakes and raisons
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Solution
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A type of material in which one chemical (the solute) dissolves (becomes completely incorporated) in another (the solvent). In solutions
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Precipitate
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A compound that forms when ions in liquid solution join together to create a solid that settles out of the solution. The process of forming solud frains by separation and settling from a solution.
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What is a crystal?
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a single
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What binds a crystal?
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Crystal faces that grow naturally as the mineral forms.
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What is inside a crystal?
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the way in which atoms are packed defines the crystal structure of the mineral.
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Polymorphs
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Two different minerals (such as diamond and graphite) that have the same composition but different crystal structures
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What controls the shape of a crystal?
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by the regular spacing of atoms. IF the crystal contains more than one type fo atom
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What does the pattern of the atoms or ions in a mineral display>?
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symmetry
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What are the 5 ways mineral crystals can form?
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They can form from the solidification of a melt (freezing of a liquid; precipitation of a solution; solid state diffusion; can form between at interfaces between they physical and biological components of the earth systems by process of biomineralization (clams); precipitate directly from gas
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First step in forming a crystal?
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a chance formation of a seed. Once the seed exsists
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What is geode
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mineral lined cavity in rock
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How can you tell one mineral from another?
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Shape and color
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Color
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interaction with light. Each color has a different wave length. A mineral absorbs certain wavelengths
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Streak
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refers to the color of a powder produced by pulverizing the mineral. scraping it on an unglazed ceramic plate.
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Luster
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referest to the way a mineral surface scatters light. Geoscientists describe luster simply by comparring the appearance of the mineral with the appearance of a faminilar substance. silky
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Hardness
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measure of the relative ability of a mineral to resist scration. The atoms of a strong mineral are more tightly bound than a soft mineral. Diamond is the hardest mineral out there. Minerals are listed in a hardness of 1 to 5 via Friedrich Mohs.
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Mohs hardness scale
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listed 1 to 5. 5 can scratch all materials.
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Specific Gravity
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represents the density of the mineral to the weight of water.
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Crystal Habit
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referest to the shape ofa single crystal with well-formed crystal faces. or to the character of an aggregate of many well formed crystals that grew together as a group.
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Special Properties
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some minerals have distinctive properties that readily distinguish them from other minerals.
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Frature and cleavage
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Different minerals frature in different ways. Depending on the internal arrangement of the atoms
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what is cleavage
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if a mineral breaks to form distinct planar surfaces that have a specific orientation in relation to the crystal structure. it has a cleavage plane
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What is a conchoidal fracture?
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Materials that have no cleavage at all
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What are the mineral clases?
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Silicates
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Silicates
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The fundamental component of most in the earths crust is the SiO4_4 anionic group. 4 oxygen atoms surround a single silicon atom
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Oxides
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consist of metal cations bonded to oxygen anions. typical ones cobtain hematite and magnetite
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Sulfides
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Consist of a metal cation bonded to a sufide anion.
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Sulfates
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Consist of a metal cation bonded to the SO 2-4 group. Many form preciotitation out of water at or near the earths surface.
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Halides
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The anion in a halide is a halogen ion such as chloride or flouride. Rock salt. or fouride.
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Carbonates
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The molecule CO 2_3 serves as the anionic group. Calcuim and magnesium bond to this group
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Native Metals
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consist of pure masses of a single metal. Copper and gold.
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What makes up over 95% if the continental crust
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Silicate Minerals
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What is the SiO 4_4 anionic group?
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Most of the silicate minerals in the crust consist of fundamental building blocks SiO 4_4 called silicon-oxygen tetrahedron
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What are the 7 silicate groups
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1. independant tetrahedra: do not hare any oxygen atoms
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