Chapter 1: Matter and Minerals Vocabulary

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from Foundations of Earth Science Chapter 1 lecture notes on matter, atomic structure, mineral properties, and mineral classifications.

Mineralogy

The scientific study of minerals.

Mineral

A naturally occurring, inorganic solid that possesses an orderly crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition.

Rock

A naturally occurring solid mass of mineral, or mineral-like matter, usually consisting of an aggregate of several different minerals.

Atom

The smallest particle of matter that cannot be chemically split.

Proton

A subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom that carries a charge of $+1$.

Neutron

A subatomic particle located in the nucleus of an atom that possesses no charge ($0$).

Electron

A subatomic particle with a charge of $-1$ and a mass approximately $1/2000$ that of a proton or neutron, surrounding the nucleus in a cloud.

Valence Electrons

The electrons located in the outermost principal shell of an atom that interact with other atoms to form chemical bonds.

Atomic Number

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom, which determines its chemical nature.

Element

A substance composed of atoms that all have the same atomic number and identical chemical properties.

Octet Rule

A chemical principle stating that atoms tend to gain, lose, or share electrons until they are surrounded by eight valence electrons.

Chemical Bond

The transfer or sharing of electrons that lowers the total energy of atoms and results in a full valence shell.

Ionic Bond

A chemical bond formed when valence electrons are transferred from one atom to another, producing oppositely charged ions that attract each other.

Covalent Bond

A chemical bond produced when electrons are shared between atoms.

Metallic Bond

A chemical bond created when valence electrons are free to move from one atom to another among all available atoms.

Luster

The quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral, classified as metallic, submetallic, or nonmetallic.

Streak

The color of a mineral in powdered form, determined by rubbing the sample on an unglazed porcelain streak plate.

Crystal Shape or Habit

The characteristic shape of individual mineral crystals or aggregates of crystals.

Hardness

A mineral's resistance to abrasion or scratching.

Mohs Scale

A relative scale ranging from $1$ to $10$ used to measure mineral hardness against ten standard index minerals.

Cleavage

The tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak chemical bonding, producing smooth, flat surfaces.

Fracture

The pattern of breakage in a mineral with chemical bonds equal in strength in all directions, forming irregular or smooth curved (conchoidal) surfaces.

Tenacity

A mineral's resistance to breaking, bending, cutting, or deforming under stress.

Specific Gravity

A ratio describing density, equal to the weight of a mineral divided by the weight of an equal volume of water.

Rock-Forming Minerals

The few dozen abundant minerals that compose the majority of Earth's crust.

Silicates

The most common mineral group in Earth's crust, comprising over $90\%$ of the crust and built from silicon and oxygen.

Silicon-Oxygen Tetrahedron

The fundamental building block of all silicate minerals, consisting of four oxygen atoms ($O^{2-}$) covalently bonded to a central silicon atom ($Si^{4+}$), forming the complex ion $SiO_4^{4-}$.

Feldspars

The most plentiful group of silicate minerals, making up over $50\%$ of Earth's crust.

Quartz

The second-most-abundant mineral in continental crust, composed entirely of silicon and oxygen ($SiO_2$).

Dark Silicate Minerals

Silicate minerals containing iron and magnesium, characterized by dark color and high specific gravity.

Nonsilicate Minerals

Mineral groups lacking silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, making up about $8\%$ of Earth's crust and classified by their common negative ions into groups such as carbonates, halides, oxides, sulfides, sulfates, and native elements.