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15 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Carbonates
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Minerals made of the carbonate ion (one atom of carbon and three atoms of oxygen) in combination
with one or more elements such as calcium, magnesium or iron (ie: calcite CaCO3) |
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Cleavage
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The way a mineral breaks along one or more smooth, flat planes.
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Crystal
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A geometric mineral shape having an orderly arrangement of plane surfaces that reflects the fixed
pattern of its internal atoms. |
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Fracture Curved
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The breakage of minerals along irregular surfaces. Fracture can be described as uneven, splintered or
curved. |
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Feldspar
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A group of aluminum silicate minerals characterized by their hardness and distinct right-angle
cleavage. They are the most abundant of all the rock-forming minerals. |
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Luster
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The visual appearance of a mineral as it absorbs, reflects or refracts light.
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Mineral
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A solid, naturally occurring inorganic substance composed of an element or compound and having a
fixed chemical composition. |
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Muscovite
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A potassium, aluminum silicate mineral of the mica group that has perfect cleavage in one direction
(breaks into thin sheets) and has a glassy luster. |
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Native Elements
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Metallic (gold, silver, copper) and nonmetallic (graphite, sulfur, diamond) minerals composed
of a single element in its purest uncombined form ( ie: Gold, Au) |
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Oxides
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Minerals that form when oxygen atoms bond with metal atoms such as iron, magnesium or aluminum.
(ie: magnetite Fe3O4) |
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Quartz (SiO2):
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One of the most abundant and stable minerals in the earth's crust, made of one atom of silicon and two
atoms of oxygen. |
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Silicates
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The rock-forming minerals made up of silicon-oxygen molecules either alone or in combination with
one or more other elements. |
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Specific Gravity
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The relative weight of a mineral when compared with the weight of an equal volume of water;
also referred to as "heft". It is similar to a mineral's density. |
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Streak
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The color of the powder left by a mineral when it is rubbed across an unglazed tile.
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Sulfides
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Metallic minerals that form when a metal element bonds with sulfur. (ie: pyrite FeS2)
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