Mineral Basics
This is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a crystalline structure and definite chemical composition.
What is a mineral?
This property is the color of a mineral’s powder.
What is streak?
The most common mineral group in Earth’s crust.
What are silicates?
Igneous rocks form when this cools and hardens.
What is magma or lava?
Sedimentary rocks begin as this material.
What is sediment?
Metamorphic rocks form from existing rocks changed by these two main factors.
What are heat and pressure?
The continuous process that changes rocks from one type to another.
What is the rock cycle?
Minerals must be this type of substance at Earth’s surface temperatures.
What is a solid?
This describes how light reflects off a mineral’s surface.
What is luster?
This mineral group contains carbon, oxygen, and a metal.
What are carbonates?
These igneous rocks form below Earth’s surface.
What are intrusive rocks?
This process squeezes sediments together.
What is compaction?
This type of metamorphism happens when magma heats surrounding rock.
What is contact metamorphism?
This process breaks rocks into sediment.
What is weathering?
This mineral-forming process happens when molten rock cools and hardens.
What is crystallization from magma?
This scale ranks minerals from 1 to 10 based on scratch resistance.
What is the Mohs Hardness Scale?
This mineral group includes halite (table salt).
What are halides?
These igneous rocks form at Earth’s surface.
What are extrusive rocks?
This process glues sediments together with dissolved minerals.
What is cementation?
This type occurs during mountain building and affects large areas.
What is regional metamorphism?
This energy source powers weathering and erosion at Earth’s surface.
What is the sun (and gravity)?
This process forms minerals when dissolved substances separate from water.
What is precipitation?
This describes how a mineral breaks along flat planes.
What is cleavage?
Gold and silver belong to this mineral group.
What are native elements?
Slow cooling produces this texture with large crystals.
What is coarse-grained texture?
Conglomerate and sandstone are examples of this type of sedimentary rock.
What are clastic sedimentary rocks?
These metamorphic rocks show layering or banding.
What are foliated rocks?
If metamorphic rock melts, it becomes this.
What is magma?
These hot water mixtures form minerals like quartz and pyrite.
What are hydrothermal solutions?
This property compares a mineral’s weight to the weight of water.
What is specific gravity?
These minerals contain sulfur but no oxygen and often form from hot water solutions.
What are sulfides?
Basalt and gabbro have this dark, iron-rich composition.
What is basaltic composition?
These sedimentary rocks form when dissolved minerals evaporate and precipitate.
What are chemical sedimentary rocks?
Marble and quartzite are examples of this type of metamorphic rock.
What are nonfoliated rocks?
The internal force responsible for forming both igneous and metamorphic rocks.
What is heat?