| A | B |
|---|
| mineral | a solid, inorganic, naturally occuring substance with a definite chemical composition and a crystalline structure |
| rock | a mixture of minerals |
| inorganic | something that is not alive and is not created by the living things |
| molecule | the smallest part of a compound that still has all the properties of that compound |
| atom | the smallest part of an element that still has all the properties of that element |
| element | the most simple substance, made up of only one type of atom |
| compound | a substance made up of two or more elements chemically combined |
| pure substance | a substance with a definite chemical composition where all the molecules are the same; either an element or a compound |
| silicate mineral | a mineral made up of silicon and oxygen |
| Geiger counter | an instrument used to test for radioactivity |
| heft | a high density (greater than 6 g/cm3) |
| luster | the way a mineral reflects light |
| hardness | the resistance of a mineral to being scratched |
| streak | the powdered form of a mineral |
| cleavage | the tendancy of a mineral to break along smooth, flat planes of weak bonding |
| fracture | a break that is not smooth |
| effervescence | a mineral that reacts to hydrochloric acid by bubbling |
| radioactivity | a special property where the nuclei of the mineral are decaying and emitting particles |
| fluorescence | the ability to glow under a black light |
| extrusive | an igneous rock formed on the surface of the Earth that cools quickly and has small crystals |
| intrusive | an igneous rock formed on the inside of the Earth that cools slowly and has big crystals |
| magma | molten lava on the inside of the Earth |
| lava | molten rock on the surface of the Earth |
| fine-grained | small crystals |
| coarse-grained | large crystals |
| felsic | light colored igneous rock made from silicate minerals |
| mafic | dark colored igneous rock made from iron and magnesium |
| dike | vertical igneous intrusion that cuts across rock layers |
| sill | horizontal igneous intrusion that runs parallel to rock layers |
| laccolith | dome shaped igneous intrusion the size of a hill |
| batholith | very large igneous intrusion |
| sediment | weathered rock |
| stratification | layers |
| lithification | the process of turning sediment into rock by compaction and cementation |
| ripple mark | a primary structure of sedimentary rock formed by the back and forth movement of water |
| mud cracks | a primary structure of sedimentary rocks formed by the repeated wetting and drying of land |
| cross-bedding | a primary structure of sedimentary rocks where the layers and not parallel, but cut across each other indicating that the rock was formed in a sand dune or wind-blown desert |
| concretions | round nodules of sedimentary rock formed when minerals precipitate around a small rock |
| geode | crystal filled sedimentary rock |
| detrital sedimentary rocks | sedimentary rocks formed from the compaction and cementation of sediments |
| chemical sedimentary rocks | sedimentary rocks formed from the precipitation of minerals from solutions, or from solutions that evaporate and leave minerals behind |
| organic sedimentary rocks | sedimentary rocks formed from the compaction and cementation of living things |
| flute casts | primary structure formed in sedimentary rock when a log is dragged along the bottom of a river, leaving a u-shaped dent in the river bed |
| foliation | layers or bands of minerals found in metamorphic rocks |
| contact metamorphism | the type of metamorphism that occurs along the edges of igneous intrusions when the magma bakes the surrounding rock |
| regional metamorphism | the type of metamorphism that occurs along plate boundaries when heat and pressure from plates colliding or sliding past each other changes the rock |
| parent rock | the rock that was changed into a metamorphic rock |
| hydrothermal veins | deposits of minerals from hot water solutions--a metamorphic feature |
