MINERAL PROPERTIES
If a mineral breaks with jagged, uneven edges because the atomic bonds are equally strong in all directions.
What is Fracture?
A common Intrusive Igneous rock with large mineral grains, often used in countertops.
What is Granite?
Extrusive igneous rocks often have these features because gas bubbles were trapped as the lava cooled quickly.
What are Holes (or Air Pockets/Vesicles)?
This type of pressure squeezes rock equally from all sides as it is buried deeper underground.
What is Confining Pressure?
Minerals generally have this state of matter (gas, liquid, or solid).
What is Solid?
This property describes a mineral's resistance to bending or deforming; for example, if it is flexible or brittle.
What is Tenacity?
A dark Extrusive Igneous rock that forms from rapid cooling; it makes up much of the ocean floor.
What is Basalt?
This type of Sedimentary rock is made specifically from broken fragments of other rocks weathered away.
What is Detrital?
Ion-rich liquids that surround mineral grains and encourage recrystallization are called this.
What are Chemically Active Fluids?
Cleavage occurs in a mineral where the bonds between atoms are ________.
What is Weak?
A mineral is described as this if no light is able to pass through it.
What is Opaque?
A sedimentary rock made of rounded pebbles cemented together; its name sounds like a mixture of things.
What is Conglomerate?
This type of Sedimentary rock forms when dissolved minerals come out of a water solution.
What is Chemical?
The process where existing minerals change shape and size, or new minerals grow, without the rock melting.
What is Recrystallization?
Atoms in a mineral are arranged in this type of repetitive manner (2D, 3D, or 4D).
What is 3D (Three Dimensional)?
Because Pyrite (Fool's Gold) and real Gold look similar, this property is considered the least reliable for identification.
What is Color?
The mineral name for "Rock Salt," which is a chemical sedimentary rock.
What is Halite?
The specific step in lithification where the weight of overlying material squeezes sediments together.
What is Compaction?
Metamorphic rocks that do not have layers or bands are classified as this.
What is Non-foliated?
Copper is considered this, meaning it can be hammered into different shapes without breaking.
What is Malleable?
This specific mineral has a hardness of 6 and is known for scratching glass but not steel.
What is Orthoclase?
A metamorphic rock that forms from quartz sandstone (hint: it's in the name).
What is Quartzite?
Magma that cools at this speed results in fewer, larger crystals.
What is Slow Cooling?
This specific rock is the "parent rock" that turns into Gneiss under high heat and pressure.
What is Granite?
While rocks are mixtures, minerals have a specific __________ composition.
What is Chemical?