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=Vocabulary=


 * inorganic**- has not risen from materials that were once a living thing


 * crystal**- has flat sides, called faces, that meet at sharp edges or corners


 * element**- a substance composed of a single kind of atom


 * compound**- two or more compounds are chemically merged so that the elements lose their once distinct properties


 * Mohs hardness scale**- a scale, created by Fredrick Mohs, that ranks minerals by hardness on a scale of ten


 * streak**- the color of a mineral's powder


 * cleavage**- a mineral's ability to split against flat surfaces


 * fracture**- the way a mineral looks when it splits apart in an unusual way


 * fluorescence**- the mineral's ability to glow under ultra- violet light, or black light

=Chapter Outline=

T=

Properties of Minerals

 * 3,000 known minerals
 * only 100 are common
 * twenty minerals form Earth's crust
 * minerals called "rock forming minerals"
 * Mineral=
 * ===naturally occurring===
 * not made by people
 * ===inorganic===
 * not arisen from once- living thing
 * ===solid===
 * keeps shape, particles packed tightly
 * ===crystal structure===
 * crystals grown in repeating pattern
 * definite chemical composition
 * has certain elements + definite proportions
 * almost all minerals are compounds
 * some elements occur pure form
 * copper
 * gold
 * silver
 * ==Identifying Minerals==
 * **Each mineral has it's own specific properties that can be used to identify it.**
 * ===Hardness===
 * Mohs hardness scale
 * scale of ten, ten= hardest
 * mineral scratch any softer mineral
 * ===Color===
 * used only with certain minerals
 * ===Streak===
 * color of the powder
 * streak color= different from outside color
 * ===Luster===
 * how a mineral reflects light
 * terms= waxy, earthy, pearly Density
 * mass divided by volume= density
 * ===Crystal Systems===
 * crystal systems= crystals classified into shape
 * systems= cubic, hexagonal, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic
 * ===Cleavage===
 * a minerals ability to split along flat surfaces= cleavage
 * minerals cleavage= how atoms on crystals are arranged
 * fracture= how a mineral looks when breaks apart irregularly
 * ===Special Properties===
 * minerals that glow in ultraviolet light (black light)= fluorescence
 * some minerals= magnetized
 * some minerals radioactive
 * some minerals react chemically towards acid
 * some minerals react chemically towards acid