Characteristics of Rocks
What does the texture of a rock refer to?
Size and arrangement of a rock's minerals.
What are metal ores?
Solid
What does cleavage describe?
The way a mineral breaks.
How are igneous rocks formed?
Magma cools and solidifies to form rock.
Why does granite have visible crystals while obsidian has a glassy texture?
Obsidian is a volcanic igneous rock: lava cooled too quickly for crystals to form; granite is a plutonic igneous rock: magma cooled slowly allowing large crystals to form.
Name the 3 types of rocks.
Igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic.
What are native or noble minerals?
Minerals that metals are extracted from.
What is tenacity?
How easily a mineral breaks.
How are sedimentary rocks formed?
Sediments are transported by water and wind to sedimentary basins, where they are compacted or cemented into rock.
Is pumice a volcanic or plutonic igneous rock?
Volcanic
What is rock classification based on?
Origin and formation of the rock.
Can minerals be man-made?
No, they are found in nature.
What is meant by a mineral’s habit?
Characteristic shapes that reflect a mineral’s crystalline structure.
What is the difference between volcanic and plutonic igneous rocks?
Volcanic rocks are formed by lava that cools quickly above Earth's crust, while plutonic rocks are formed by magma that cools slowly inside Earth's crust.
Name 3 types of detrital sedimentary rocks.
Conglomerates, sandstone, clay.
How are rocks different from minerals?
Rocks are natural aggregates made up of one or a variety of different minerals.
How can we describe the structure of minerals?
Crystalline structure: particles are arranged to form a repetitive geometric structure.
What mineral is associated with the number 1 on the Mohs scale? Number 10?
Talc; diamond
What is the difference between detrital and non-detrital sedimentary rocks?
Detrital rocks are composed of rock sediments, while non-detrital rocks are composed of skeletons, biological remains, and mineral salts.
Classify coal into its category and subcategory.
Non-detrital sedimentary rock.
Define homogeneous and heterogeneous rocks.
Homogeneous rocks are composed of one mineral; heterogeneous rocks are composed of various minerals.
Give an example of a mineral that exhibits ductile tenacity.
Copper
What is meant by lustre? What are some ways we can describe lustre? (Give 3 examples)
How a mineral reflects light.
Explain the rock cycle.
Series of processes that a rock goes through to transform into another type of rock.
Name 2 foliated and 1 non-foliated metamorphic rocks.
Slate/schist/gneiss/migmatite; marble/quartzite