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| the study of the earth’s origin (beginnings), its history, and structure |
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| a naturally occurring, inorganic, solid that has a definite chemical formula and crystal shape |
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| something that was never “alive” and never will be |
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| a solid that has a definite pattern of atoms that is repeated over and over again; has flat “faces” of sides that meet in sharp edges |
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| hot molten rock located deep inside the earth |
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| a rock that is hollow in the center and has crystals lining the interior of the rock; is formed by evaporation of liquids that leave behind crystal minerals. |
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| hot molten rock that has exited the interior of the earth and is now on the surface on the earth |
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| the purest know substance that is made from only one kind of atom |
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| the easiest property to observe, but not necessarily the best one to identify minerals from |
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| the way light reflects off the surface of a mineral |
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| looks like a metal; shiny to dull |
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| glassy, pearly, earthy, transparent, greasy etc. |
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the ability of a mineral to resist being scratched
ranges from 1 (soft) to 10 (hard) |
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| the mineralogist that developed the hardness scale in the early 1800’s |
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| the color of the powder left by a mineral when rubbed against a hard rough surface |
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| the amount of mass that is packed into a specific amount of volume; Mass per unit of volume |
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| the density of a mineral compared to the density of water; in other words, it tells us how many times heavier a certain volume of a mineral is than the same volume of water |
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| A process by which you hold a mineral or rock in each hand that is of the same approximate volume and determining which one has the most mass. A way of estimating the density of a mineral or rock without taking precise measurements. |
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cubic, hexagonal, orthorhombic,
monoclinic, tetragonal, triclinic |
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| how a mineral would break apart into pieces |
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| breakage along a flat surface or plane |
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| breakage that leaves an uneven, curved, or splintery surface |
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| minerals in which usable amounts of metals or nonmetals can be removed |
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| minerals that can be removed that are shiny, and able to conduct heat and or electricity |
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property of a metal that has the
ability to be hammered into thin sheets without breaking |
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| property of a metal that allows a metal to be pulled into thin strands without breaking |
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| minerals that can be removed from an ore that not shiny, not malleable or ductile, and are poor conductors of energy (heat and electricity) |
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| minerals that are rare, beautiful and durable |
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| minerals that are the rarest and most valuable |
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| less rare and less valuable than preciousa gems |
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| process of heating a metal ore for the purpose of extracting or removing the metals (ore processing) |
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| process of extracting useful metals from Earth (ore processing) |
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| purified (ore processing) |
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