Vocabulary
A naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition.
What is a mineral?
The way a mineral’s surface shines in the light?
What is luster?
Crystals can form from hot melted rock called this.
What is magma?
Name one mineral you can scratch with your fingernail.
What is talc or gypsum?
: A mineral or rock that contains useful substances mined for profit.
What is an ore?
A solid in which atoms are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern.
What is a crystal?
The property that measures how easily a mineral can be scratched.
What is hardness?
When magma cools slowly, the crystals that form are generally this size.
What are large crystals?
This mineral is the hardest natural substance.
What is diamond?
Amethyst is a type of this valuable mineral form of quartz.
What is a gem?
The color of a mineral in powdered form.
What is streak?
A mineral breaking along smooth, flat surfaces.
What is cleavage?
When magma cools quickly, crystals that form are usually this size.
What are small crystals?
This object can scratch feldspar but not quartz.
What is a steel file?
Titanium is useful because it is both of these things.
What are durable and lightweight?
Minerals that contain silicon and oxygen, plus one or more other elements.
What are silicates
A mineral breaking along smooth, flat surfaces.
What is fracture?
Crystals can also form when minerals dissolve in a liquid that later does this.
What is evaporates?
This object can scratch apatite but not feldspar.
What is glass?
Vein minerals are metal deposits that occur here.
What are cracks in rocks?
A rare, valuable mineral that can be cut and polished for jewelry.
What is a gem?
Gold’s is 17, meaning it is 17 times heavier than an equal volume of water.
What is specific gravity?
Crystals are grouped into systems such as cubic, tetragonal, and this six-sided one.
What is hexagonal?
The scale used to compare the hardness of minerals.
What is the Mohs Hardness Scale?
Ilmenite and rutile are examples of this type of ore.
What are iron ores?