ty-science
Terms
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- mineral
- a naturally occuring, inorganic solid that has a crysal structure and a definite chemical composition
- mohs hardness scale
- a scale ranking ten minerals from softest to hardest
- inorganic
- not formed from living things or the remains of living things
- naturally occuring
- to be classified as a mineral, a substance must occur naturally
- solid
-
a mineral that has a definite volume or shape
particles cannot move freely - crystal structure
-
the particles of a mineral line up in a pattern that repeats over and over again
flat sides called faces that meet up at sharp edges - crystal
- the repeating pattern of a mineral's particles forms a solid called a crystal
- definite chemical composition
- a mineral always contains certain elements in definite proportions
- element
- a substance composed of a single kind of atom
- compound
- in a compound two or more elements are combined so that the elements no longer have distinct properties
- identifying minerals
- each mineral has it's own specific properties that can be used to identify it
- hardness
- identifying minerals by it's hardness
- color
- color of a mineral is an easily observed physical property
- streak
-
streak test can provide clues to a mineral's identity
the color of it's powder is the streak - luster
- the term used to describe how a mineral reflects light from its surface
- density
-
each mineral has a characteristic density
a mass in a given space or mass per unit volume - crystal systems
- the crystals of each mineral grow atom by atom to find that mineral's particular structure
- cleavage
- a mineral that splits easily along flat services has the property called cleavage
- fracture
- describes how a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way
- special properties
- some minerals can be identified by special physical properties
- florescence
- minerals that glow under ultra violet lights
- process that form minerals
- minerals can form in two ways; through crystalization of melted materials and through crystalization of materials dissolved in water
- minerals from magma
- minerals form as hot magma cools inside the crust or as lava hardens on the surface
- minerals from hot water solutions
- some times the elements that form a mineral dissolve in hot water
- solution
- a mixture in which one substance dissolves into another
- vein
- a narrow channel or slab of a mineral that is much different from the surrounding rock
- minerals formed by evaporation
- when solutions evaporate they can form minerals
- where minerals are found
- earth's crust is made up mostly of the common rock forming minerals combined in various types of rocks