CH.3.5 Geoscience Basics: Minerals and Properties

What is a mineral?

A mineral is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and a highly ordered atomic arrangement.

What is the process by which minerals form through precipitation from solution?

Minerals form when dissolved substances in water become supersaturated and precipitate out of solution.

How do minerals form through sublimation?

Minerals form directly from a gas phase, especially near volcanic vents where gases cool and deposit minerals.

What determines the type of minerals that crystallize from a melt?

The cooling rate and chemical composition of the molten rock.

What is crystal habit?

Crystal habit refers to the characteristic shape of a mineral crystal, reflecting the internal arrangement of atoms.

What is the Mohs Hardness Scale?

A relative scale from 1 to 10 that measures a mineral's resistance to scratching.

What does specific gravity measure?

Specific gravity is the ratio of a mineral's density to the density of water.

What is the definition of cleavage in minerals?

Cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break along flat planes.

What is the difference between color and streak?

Color is the overall color of a mineral, while streak is the color of the mineral's powder when scratched on a streak plate.

What is a silica tetrahedron?

The silica tetrahedron (SiO₄)⁴⁻ is the basic building block of silicate minerals, consisting of one silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms.

Name a common mineral that is a sulfide.

Pyrite is a common example of a sulfide mineral.

What are the major groups of silicate minerals?

The major groups are nesosilicates, sorosilicates, cyclosilicates, inosilicates, phyllosilicates, and tectosilicates.

What is the characteristic of idiochromatic minerals?

Idiochromatic minerals have a color that is inherent to their mineral composition.

What is thermoluminescence in minerals?

Thermoluminescence is the light emitted by a mineral when it is heated.

What does the term ‘tenacity’ refer to in mineral properties?

Tenacity describes how a mineral responds to stress, including being malleable, ductile, brittle, elastic, flexible, or sectile.