Minerals/Mining Quiz Unit 7

  • 5 characteristics of minerals

    • Must occur naturally in the earth

    • Must be inorganic

    • Are always solids

    • Definite chemical composition

    • Have atoms that are arranged in a definite repeating pattern (crystal structure)

  • 6 physical properties of minerals

    • Color

    • Luster

    • Hardness

    • Streak: The color of the powder scraped off a mineral when it is rubbed against a hard, rough surface.

    • Density: mass/volume

    • Cleavage and Fracture

      • Cleavage: Breaking along certain lines

      • Fracture: jagged, rough breaks

  • Mohs scale

    •  1 is the softest (talc) and 10 is the hardest (diamond)

  • 5 examples of how minerals used in everyday life

    • Food, Buildings, Cosmetics, Electronics, Jewerly

  • Pg 8-Stratigraphy, uniformitarianism, how would you determine the most recent rock layer formed

    • Stratigraphy: the study of how rock layers are formed

    • Uniformitarianism: the same processes of erosion, deposition, and subterranean heat that were currently observable had formed the current land forms slowly over millions of years

  • Pg 10-Know the characteristics of igneous rock types (felsic, mafic, ultra mafic, intermediate)

    • Felsic: Low in Iron and High in silica, made of light colored materials (EX: Granite)

    • Mafic: High in Magnesuem and Iron, made of darker colored materials and are heavier (EX: Basalt)

    • Ultra Mafic: 90% of mafic materials and are low in silica

    • Intermediate: Composition between mafic and felsic (EX: andesite)

  • Pg 10-Know the 4 textures of igneous rocks (porphyritic, fine grained, coarse grained, glassy)

    • Porphyritic: Large and small crystals combined because of slow cooling then eventually rapid cooling when getting closer to the surface

    • Fine Grained: Made of small interlocking crystals because the magma hardened and cooled rapid once reaching the earth’s surface (Basalt)

    • Coarse grained: Interlocking mineral crystals that are bigger because it hardens slowly

    • Glassy: A shiny/polished look, magma hardened quick so there was no time for crystals to form. EX: obsidian

  • Pg 11-Know the 4 types of metamorphism (contact, dynamic, regional, hydrothermal)

    • Contact: Magma comes in contact with an existing rock

    • Dynamic: From mountain formations, huge pressure bends, folds, and crush the existing rock

    • Regional: Large amounts of rock are altered because of the high pressure+temperature as they are pushed deep within the earth

    • Hydrothermal: Rock comes into contact with hot fluids near ocean vents

  • Pg 12-Know the 3 types of sedimentary rocks (clastic-shale, chemical-gypsum, organic-coal)

    • Clastic-shale: formed from weathering or erosion of any preexisting rock. Running water rounds the fragments. They get deposited because the water begins to slow and the sediments get sorted to later become different sedimentary rocks

    • Chemical-Gypsum: can be found at the bottom of dried up lakes, swamps, or the sea. Minerals have fallen out of solution/water has evaporated and left behind the mineral sediments

    • Organic-Coal: remains of plants and animals(fossils)

  • Pg 13-Know the rock cycle diagram

    • Weathering and Erosion

    • Deposition

    • Cementation: materials broken down by weathering, transported by erosion, and then glued together to make sedimentary rocks

    • Metamorphism: rocks are buried deep, heat/pressure/ chemical reactions change them into metamorphic rocks

    • Magma: Igneous rocks from cooling and hardening of magma

    • Crystallization

  • Pg 14-Mining process: 

    • Prospecting/Surveying:

    • Exploration

    • Design/Planning

    • Development

    • Production

    • Reclamation

  • Pg 15-Surface versus subsurface mining

    • Surface

      • Pros: Less Expensive, Safer

      • Cons:Alters large portions of the landscape, increased erosion, destruction of habitats

    • Subsurface

      • Pros: Less Surface Damage

      • Cons: More expensive, Additional safety concerns, Acidic Water conditions

  • Pg 16-Restoration and reclamation of mines

    • Restoration: A legal term that involves returning a disturbed site to a more or less natural state

    • Reclamation: The rehabilitation of a disturbed site for a useful and desirable purpose