Vocabulary
What is a mineral?
An inorganic, naturally occurring solid material.
What is a streak?
A streak is the colour of the powdered form of the mineral.
What mineral is the hardest on the Mohs Hardness Scale?
Diamond
How many crystal shapes are there?
6
T/F Colour can always be a clue to minerals identity?
False
What is crust?
The thin outermost layer of Earth.
What is hardness?
A mineral's resistance to scratching.
T/F As you move up the hardness scale the minerals resisting gets tougher.
True
T/F You can use crystal systems to identify minerals?
True
What is a streak test?
A streak test is when a mineral is scraped on a streak plate.
What is a rock?
A natural material composed of one or more minerals.
What is a crystal?
The building block of minerals; crystals occur naturally and have straight edges, flat sides, and regular angles.
Who was the Mohs Hardness Scale created by?
Friedrich Mohs
What is an example of a hexagonal shaped crystal?
Quartz and calcite
What is an example of a mineral with a non-metallic lustre?
Talc
What is lustre?
The light- reflecting properties or "shininess," of minerals.
What is an element?
An element is a type of pure substance (made of one type of particle or atom).
What mineral(s) has a 7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale?
Amethyst or quartz
What is an example of a cubic crystal?
Halite and galena
What is metallic lustre?
Metallic is when a mineral shines like polished metal surface.
What is cleavage?
Minerals that break with smooth edges.
What is fracture?
The property of some minerals to break with rough or jagged surfaces.
I can scratch talc, but I am scratched by calcite. What am I?
Gypsum
What are the major crystal shapes in the crystal systems?
Cubic, tetragonal, hexagonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic.
What is the difference between cleavage and fracture?
Fracture is when a rock breaks with ragged edges and Cleavage is when a mineral breaks off in smooth edges.