KYTL+4.1

toc

Vocabulary:

 * Inorganic**-can not formed from living things or the remains of living things (dead)
 * Crystal**-a solid in which the atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats again and again
 * Element**-a substance made up of one single atom
 * Compound**-a substance in which 2 or more elements are chemically mixed together
 * Mohs hardness scale**-a scale used to rank ten minerals from hardest to softest
 * Streak**- the color of a mineral's powder
 * Luster**-used to describe how light reflects on a mineral
 * Cleavage**-a property of a mineral that splits easily along flat surfaces
 * Fracture**-describes how a mineral looks when it breaks irregularly
 * Fluorescence**-the property of the mineral in which the mineral glows under ultraviolet light

Summary

 * sphalerite- source of zinc and gallium

What is a Mineral?

 * geologists have identified 3,000 minerals
 * only 100 are common
 * Naturally Occurring
 * to be a mineral, the mineral has to be natural, not man made
 * found from substances in Earth's crust:
 * cement
 * brick
 * steel
 * glass
 * Inorganic
 * can't arise from materials that were once part of a living thing or things
 * For example, coal:
 * forms naturally in the crust
 * comes from remains of plants/animals that were alive a long, long time ago
 * Solid
 * mineral
 * always solid
 * has definite volume
 * has definite shape
 * particles make up solid
 * are clumped together very tightly
 * can't move like particles that make up liquid
 * Crystal Structure
 * particles line up in pattern this process repeats over and over again
 * characteristics of a crystal
 * flat sides, called faces
 * meet at sharp edges and corners
 * Definite Chemical Composition
 * mineral always have certain elements in definite proportions
 * all atoms of same element have the same chemical and physical properties
 * almost all minerals are compounds
 * each compound-own properties

Identifying Minerals

 * each mineral has its own specific property
 * Hardness
 * any mineral can scratch any mineral softer than itself
 * Color
 * can't identify most minerals because some minerals have many colors, like for example quartz
 * malachite is always green
 * azurite is always blue
 * Streak
 * observe streak by rubbing a mineral against piece of unglazed tile (streak plate)
 * minerals can have different colors
 * its streak does't have different colors
 * Luster
 * minerals with metals are often shiny
 * quartz has glassy luster
 * other terms used to describe luster
 * earthy
 * waxy
 * pearly
 * Density
 * no matter size of mineral, density remains the same
 * weight provides rough measure of density
 * to measure, you can:
 * place mineral in water
 * volume of displaced water = volume of mineral
 * Crystal Systems
 * crystals of mineral grows atom by atom to form crystal structure
 * classifed into 6 groups (crystal systems)
 * crystals in open space-almost form perfectly
 * Cleavage and Fracture
 * the way minerals breaks apart- identifies it
 * terms for fracture:
 * shell-shaped (quartz)
 * hackly fracture (pure metals)
 * earthy fracture (soft minerals)
 * uneven fracture (rough, irregular surfaces)
 * Special Properties
 * magnetism occurs naturally sometimes
 * some are radioactive
 * some react chemically to acid
 * some have electrical properties
 * some can glow in ultra-violet light (flouresence)