mineral/rock memorization

what is the habit of this pyroxene/amphibole

prismatic

what is the habit of this tourmaline

comumnar

what is the habit of this zeolite

needlelike

what is the habit of this barite

tabular

what is the habit of this kyanite

bladed

what is the habit of this celestite

fibrous

what is the habit of this manganese oxide

dendritic

what is the habit of this muscovite

foliated

what is the aggregation for olivine

granular

what is the aggregation of hematite

oolitic

what is the aggregation of bauxite

pisolitic

what is the color of native sulfur (hint: always the same)

yellow

what is the luster of native metals, sulfides, and oxide minerals

metallic or submetallic

why is olivine sometimes green

due to trace amounts of Fe

what is the streak of hematite

red

how is opal constructed ? (exhibits play of color)

amorphous silica spheres arranged with layer distances

what angle are pyroxene cleavage planes at

90

what angle are amphibole cleavage planes at

60 degrees and 120 degrees

what fracture does obsidian portray

conchoidal

what fracture does gold exhibit

hackly

which has a greater hardness

gypsum, orthoclase, or corundum?

what is the tenacity of muscovite and biotite

elastic

what are the multivalent elements

S2-, S6+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Mn2+, Mn4+, Cu+. Cu2+

which is more stable rutile or anatase?

rutile

what type of bond does fluorite have

ionic

what type of bond does halite have

ionic

what type of bond does muscovite have (hint: why is it so flaky?)

van der waals

what type of bond does graphite have

van der waals

what type of bond does talc have

van der waals

what crystal system is garnet

isometric

what crystal system is gold

isometric

what type of crystal system is halite

isometric

what type of crystal system is chromite

isometric

what type of crystal system is magnetite

isometric

what type of crystal system is pyrite

isometric

what type of crystal system is fluorite

isometric

what crystal system is zircon

tetragonal

what crystal system is rutile

tetragonal

what crystal system is chalcopyrite

tetragonal

what CS is stishovite

tetragonal

what CS is leucite

tetragonal

what CS is ice

hexagonal

size of oolitic grains

.25mm-2mm

size of pisolitic grains

>2mm

list minerals from lowest to hardest

talc, gypsum, calcite, fluorite, apatite, orthoclase, quartz, topaz, corundum, diamond

what minerals are elastic

muscovite and biotite

what minerals are flexible

metals: copper, gold, and silver

what are the types of fractures

conchoidal, hackly, splintery

what does pleochroism result from

changes in the refractive index with crystal orientation

which system has all 3 axes 90 deg to each other

isometric

what system doesn’t have its c axis equal to the others

tetragonal

what system is known as isotropic

tetragonal

what are the angles between axes for a hexagonal system

60

what are the lengths like for an orthorhombic system

they’re all unequal

what are the angles between orthorhombic axes

90

what type of symmetry is found in orthorhombic systems

2 or m

what crystal system as the lowest symmetry

monoclinic

what are rock loving elements known as

lithophile

what does siderophile mean

iron loving elements

what are sulfide ore loving or chalcogen loving elements called

chalcophile

what are gas loving elements called

atmophile

what is O according to the Goldschmidt classification (hint: it’s bonded with silicates)

lithophile

what are Earth’s four most abundant elements

Si, O, Mg, & Fe

what are the most primitive meteorites

carbonaceous chrondrites

what is the age of the earth

4.4 Ga

what are undifferentiated meteorites known as

chondrites

what are differentiated meteorites known as

achondrites

what is the D’’ layer

the core mantle boundary

what is the 660 seismic discontinuity

division btw convection currents where earthquakes don’t occur below this layer

what is the 410 seismic discontinuity

in btw the upper mantle, beginning of transition zone

what type of convection drives the earth’s magnetic field

core convection

what is the inner core made up of

solid Fe-Ni

what is the outer core made up

liquid Fe-Ni

how thick is the oceanic crust

7-10km thick

how thick is the continental crust

25-70km thick

what is the moho

boundary between crust and mantle

what is the lithosphere

crust + upper mantle

what type of heat loss does the lithosphere have

conductive heat loss

what gradient does the lithosphere have

geothermal gradient

what type of heat loss does the asthenosphere have

convective heat loss

what gradient does the asthenosphere have

adiabatic gradient

what is the rate for the geothermal gradient

25 deg C/km

what rate does the adiabatic gradient have

.3 deg C/km

what does convective heat loss/adiabatic gradient drive

mantle convection and mvt of lithosphere plates

what type of interference causes extinction

destructive interference

what does n equal to in terms of refraction

n=c/V

is n a diagnostic property (refraction n) for minerals

yes

can n for minerals be <1

no

how is the index of refraction a diagnostic property of minerals

soak minerals in oils of different refractive index and if it disappears in the oil then that mineral has that index

according to the becke line test: what does it mean if the halo is on the inside of the grain

ngrain > noil : positive relief

what does it mean if the halo is on the outside

ngrain < noil: negative relief

what is the critical angle

an angle at which light is not refracted into the material, theta 2 = 90 deg

what is total internal reflection

n2 < n1 causing all light to be reflected onto the mineral

why do minerals exhibit extinction under XPL

because light is completely absorbed and don’t change direction when passing an isotropic mineral

what happens to isotropic minerals under XPL

they go extinct

what does it mean to be optically isotropic

light rays don’t split through the crystal

what does it mean to be optically anisotropic

light ray splits into two offset

which ray is perpendicular to the c-axis

ordinary ray

which ray is parallel to the c axis

extraordinary ray

slow ray = ?

high n