Download Minerals Notes

Minerals!
The Building Blocks of ______
Minerals:
All minerals are made up of
____________________________________
_______________________________
Element: an element is made up of
________, and cannot be broken down
into a _____________________
Compound: a ______________ contains
____ or more kinds of atoms that are
__________ (chemically joined) together
Atom: an _________ is the smallest part
of an __________ – it has _______ of the
properties of the element, but ________
be _______ – even with tools!
Definition of a Mineral – must exhibit
ALL of these traits!
1) _________________ – synthetic
substances are NOT minerals
2) ______________ – cannot form as a
result of plant/animal activities (pearls
and coal are NOT minerals)
3) ________________
4) _______________________ (they are
composed of distinct elements or
combinations of elements)
5) _________________________ gives it
a crystalline structure
6) _____________________________
Properties of Minerals!
These are used to identify minerals in
labs or in the field!
_____________
______________
_______________
________________
___________________ (_______________
or _________________)
Special properties such as _________,
effervescence, or ________________
________________
Color is a useful property only for some
minerals
For ______ minerals, however, color is
______ a useful ID tool – why?
1) _______________________________
2) one color, such as white,
____________________________________
___________________________
But, color can be used to ID certain
minerals that usually exhibit only 1 color
(such as ____________, which is yellow)
So, is color useful?
No!!
Well, sometimes…..
Luster: What is Luster?
____________________________________
________________________________
This is better than color in mineral ID
This is a fairly subjective property
You need to become familiar with some
terms…
Luster – main properties
1)_________________: looks like metal
in the way it reflects light – examples
are galena or pyrite
2) _______________________: does not
look like polished metal, so other
terms are needed!
Galena
Pyrite – Fool’s Gold!
Types of Non-Metallic Luster
1)_____________ – glassy looking, like
quartz
2) _____________ – a dull shine, like
resin – olivine
3) ___________ – dull shine like candle
wax – like sulphur
4) ______________ – gives off a glare at
a certain angle, like a diamond
5) _____________ – no shine at all, like
bauxite
6) _____________ - looks like a pearl
when light reflected off it, like garnet
or opal
Streak: What is Streak?
____________________________________
___________________________________
(called a streak plate)
Most minerals display only ________
streak color:
__________________ always has a reddish
brown streak
_______________ has a yellow streak
________________has a yellow streak
________________ has a black streak
Hardness: What is Hardness?
____________________________________
____________________________
We use __________ Hardness Scale to
determine a mineral’s hardness
This scale uses 10 index minerals with
hardness ranging from ____ (least hard)
to _____ (hardest)
How do we use Moh’s?
Breakage Pattern:
_______________: the tendency of a
mineral to break along planes of
weakness
_______________: no definite planes of
weakness, just breaks irregularly