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| Any naturally occuring inorganic solid that possesses an orderly crystalline structure and a definate chemical composition. |
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| Any solid mass of mineral, or mineral-like, matter that occurs naturally as part of our planet. |
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| A substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical or physical means. |
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| The tabular arrangement of the elements according to atomic number. |
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| The smallest particle of matter that retains the essential characteristics of an element. |
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The central region of an atom. |
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Very dense particles with positive electrical charges. |
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Very dense particles with negative electrical charges. |
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| Principal Shells/Energy Levels |
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Spherically shaped negatively charged zones that surround the nucleus of an atom. |
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| The electrons involved in the bonding process; the electrons occupying the highest principal energy level of an atom. |
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| The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom. |
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| The sharing or transfer of electrons to attain a stable electron configuration among the bonding atoms. |
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| A chemical bond between oppositely charged ions formed by the transfer of valence electrons from one atom to another. |
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| A chemical bond produced by the sharing of electrons. |
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| Atoms which have an electrical charge because of the unequal numbers of electrons and protons. |
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| A chemical bond present in all metals that may be characterized as an extreme type of electron sharing in which the electrons move freely from atom to atom. |
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| The total of an atoms neutrons and protons. |
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| Atoms with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons. |
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The external expression of a mineral's internal orderly arrangement of atoms. |
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| The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral. |
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| A phenomenon of light by which otherwise identical objects may be differentiated. |
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| The color of a mineral in it's powdered form, which is a much more reliable indication of color. |
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| A measure of the resistance of a mineral to abrasion or scratching. |
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| A series of 10 minerals used as a standard in determining hardness. |
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The tendency of a mineral to cleave, or break, along planes of weak bonding. |
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| Minerals that do not exhibit cleavage when broken. |
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The ratio of a substance's weight to the weight of an equal volume of water. |
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| Any one of numerous minerals that have the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron as their basic structure. |
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| Silicon-Oxygen Tetrahedron |
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| A structure composed of four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon atom that constitutes the basic building block of silicate minerals. |
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| A substance formed by the chemical combination fo two or more elements in definite proportions and usually having properties different from those of its constituent elements. |
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| Silicate minerals that lack iron and/or magnesium. They are generally lighter in color and have a lower specific gravity than the dark silicates. |
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| The endowment of useful minerals ultimately available commercially. |
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| Already identified deposits from which minerals can be extracted profitbaly. |
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| Usually a useful metallic mineral that can be mined at a profit. |
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Those minerals containing ions of iron and/or magnesium in their structure. |
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| The spontaneous decay of certain unstable atomic nuclei. |
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