Minerals and Rocks

Flashcards on Minerals and Rocks

Mineral

Inorganic, naturally occurring solid with a definite chemical composition and atomic structure.

Inorganic

Not living, never was living, or not composed of living or organic matter

Naturally Occurring

Cannot be man-made

Mineral Composition

Specific, definite chemical composition and a specific atomic structure.

Mineral Characteristics

Color, Hardness, Luster, Streak, Cleavage, Fracture, Magnetism, Taste, Odor, Reaction to acid

Mohs scale of hardness

Scale to test the hardness of minerals

Streak

Color of the mineral in its powdered form.

Cleavage

Breaks predictably

Fracture

Breaks randomly

Rocks

Minerals combined in nature.

Igneous Rocks

Form from magma or lava

Sedimentary Rocks

Form from compacted sediments

Metamorphic Rocks

Are exposed to intense heat and pressure

Extrusive/Volcanic Igneous Rocks

Lava erupted on Earth's surface and cooled quickly.

Intrusive Igneous Rocks

Cool slow enough for the crystals to grow in the magma deep underground

Granite

Crystals are 1-10mm in size

Pegmatite

Crystals are greater than 10mm in size

Felsic

Rich in silicon and aluminum

Mafic

Rich in iron and magnesium

Cooling Time and Crystal Size

Intrusive igneous rocks have large crystals because of slow cooling, while extrusive igneous rocks have small crystals or maybe even no crystals because of fast cooling.

Sedimentary Rocks

Form from the compaction and cementation of sediments

Sediments

Consist of bits and pieces of other rocks.

Clastic Rocks

Made of compacted and cemented sediments.

Conglomerate

Big and small sediments mixed together

Sandstone

Made of sand-sized sediments

Siltstone

Smaller sediments called silt

Shale

Smaller sediments still, called clay

Crystalline Sedimentary Rocks

Forms when you have minerals dissolved in water, and then that water is given time to evaporate

Bioclastic Rocks

Biological, living things stuck together.

Metamorphic Rocks

Formed from exposure to intense heat and/or pressure

Foliated Rocks

Form primarily from regional metamorphism, which is primarily a result of pressure

Regional Metamorphic Rocks

Increasing heat and pressure within the Earth's crust.

Foliated

Pressure is causing the minerals within the rocks to almost line up with each other.

Mineral Alignment

Minerals line up as a result of pressure

Banding

Severe version of mineral alignment, and this is a result of really intense pressure.

Contact Metamorphism

Caused more by heat, when the rock comes into contact with really intense heat from lava or magma nearby.