Chapter 3 Minerals

Yes

Do minerals have to be a solid?

Air and water pollution issues

What issues can mining and refining sulfide ores cause?

One or two letter symbol

Each element is represented by what?

By visual recognition

How can geologists identify minerals in the field (without lab materials)?

When molecules gather to stabilize when liquid starts to cool and harden

How do crystals form?

It comes from the ground. Testing can help

How does radon gas get into homes? What can be done to reduce radon gas?

88

How many elements occur naturally in Earth's crust?

9 because they are more commonly occurring

How many rock forming mineral groups make up most of Earth's crust? Why?

Opposite charge

Ions with ____________ are attracted to each other.

Not really he had other minerals can have a similar color

Is color reliable? Why?

Ice is but water is not

Is water and ice both considered minerals?

Chemical elements

Minerals are composed of

Rock

Minerals are the building block of

Harmless to humans and other species

Most minerals are

Silicate-7 Carbonate-2

Out of the 9 rock forming minerals that make up most of the crust, seven are in what type of mineral group? The other 2 belong to which group?

92 percent

Silicates make up ______ of earth's crust.

Lead, zinc, copper, arsenic

What are common pollutants from mine drainage?

Agricultural fertilizers

What are some industrial uses of minerals?

Mining, stone cutting, quarrying, building, and road construction

What are some occupations that have high silica dust exposure?

Crystal habit, cleavage, fracture, hardness, specific gravity, color, streak, and luster

What are the common physical properties that geologists use to identify minerals?

Naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, definitive chemical composition, crystalline structure

What are the five characteristics that determine if something is considered a mineral or not?

An organization that institutes regulations requiring the use of protective equipment that limits the amount of silica dust inhaled

What is OSHA?

A flat surface that develops if a crystal grows freely in an uncrowded environment. These are really hard to find because they often don't get to grow freely

What is a crystal face? Are perfect ones commonly found? Why?

Any solid element or compound whose atoms are arranged in a regular, periodically repeated 3-D pattern

What is a crystal?

A mineral prized primarily for its rarity or beauty. Previous is rare gems and semi-precious gems are more common but still somewhat rare

What is a gem? What is the difference between previous and semi-precious?

The fundamental building block of all silicate minerals. They are triangles

What is a silicate tetrahedron? What does it look like?

A fundamental component of matter that cannot be broken into simpler particles by ordinary chemical processes

What is an element?

An atom with an electrical charge

What is an ion?

An industrial name for a group of minerals that crystallize as long, thin fibers

What is asbestos?

A substance capable of causing cancer?

What is carcinogenic?

The characteristic shape of an individual crystal and the manner is which crystals grow together

What is crystal habit?

The manner in which a mineral breaks other than along planes of cleavage

What is fracture?

The manner in which a mineral reflects light— metallic, glassy, pearly, earthy, greasy, and resinous

What is luster? Give examples of words used to describe luster.

A toxic metal that affects the brain, kidneys, and lungs. It can be consumed by a smaller creature that is then eaten by a larger one and it keeps spreading up from species to species.

What is mercury? Does it move up the food chain? Explain how.

The tendency of minerals to split along crystal surface planes as a result of structured locations of atoms and ions in the crystal, creating planes of weakness—- they are caused by breakage of minerals

What is mineral cleavage? What causes it?

A substance/ naturally occurring deposit from which minerals, metals or other elements can be profitably mined or recovered

What is ore?

One of a series of elements formed by the radioactive decay of uranium

What is radon?

a type of pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease caused by breathing in tiny bits of silica

What is silicosis?

The weight of a substance relative to that of an equal volume of water

What is specific gravity?

A cation has a positive charge while an anion has a negative charge

What is the difference between a cation and an anion? Which is which?

Organic substances are composed mostly of carbon that is chemically bonded to hydrogen while inorganic compounds do not contain carbon hydrogen bonds

What is the difference between organic and inorganic?

Moh's scale- it is based on a scale of one to ten with 1 being softest and 10 being hardest

What scale do geologists use to measure hardness? What is it based on? What is the hardest/softest?

Carbonates

What type of mineral group does limestone belong to?

Oxygen, silicon, aluminum, calcium, sodium, potassium, and magnesium

Which 8 elements make up the majority of Earth's crust?

Hardness, they scratch the mineral to find hardness

Which is one of the most commonly used properties? How do geologists gauge it (what action do they use)?

Chemical composition and crystalline structure- because they distinguish any mineral from all other minerals

Which of those 5 are the most important? Why?