| A | B |
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| MINERAL* | A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and crystal structure. |
| Naturally occurring* | Found in the natural world and not made by humans |
| Inorganic* | Not from anything that once was living |
| Solid* | The state of matter having a definite volume and shape |
| Crystal structure/shape* | When the particles of a mineral line up in a pattern that repeats over and over again |
| Crystal* | The repeating pattern of a minerals particles forms a solid called a crystal having flat sides that meet at sharp edges and corners |
| Element* | Substance composed of only a single kind of atom |
| Compound* | Two or more elements chemically combined so that the individual elements no longer have the same chemical and physical properties |
| Specific properties* | Each mineral has its own properties that can be used to identify it |
| Hardness* | The resistance to being scratched |
| Mohs hardness scale* | Scale that ranks minerals fro 1 10 in order of increasing hardness. |
| Color* | Property of minerals that can be used to identify minerals that always have their own characteristic color. Azurite-blue |
| Streak* | The color of a minerals powder, when rubbed on a streak plate, that is the true color of a mineral. |
| Luster* | Describes how light is reflected off of a minerals surface |
| Density* | The mass in a given space; mass per unit volume. Expressed as g/cm3. |
| Specific gravity | The density of a substance in comparison to the density of water; 1g/cm3 |
| Crystal system* | One of a group of six systems in minerals that are characterized by the shape the atoms take as they bond when the mineral grows. |
| Cubic* | Three planes of cleavage at 90 degree angles with six faces. (Isometric in that all angles between the axes are 90 degrees.) |
| Hexagonal | Four planes of cleavage with eight faces. (Uniaxial, meaning it is based on one major axis, with three planes of cleavage intersecting the major axis.) |
| Tetragonal | One longer axis/plane of cleavage intersected by two planes of cleavage at 90 degree angles. (Isometric in that all angles between the crystallographic axes are 90 degrees.) |
| Orthorhombic | three unequal axes all at right angles to each other |
| Monoclinic | This system contains two non-equal axes (a and b) that are perpendicular to each other and a third axis (c) that is inclined with respect to the a axis. |
| triclinic | All (3) axes are inclined with respect to each other, with no angles equaling 90 degrees. Also all three axes are of differing lengths. |
| cleavage* | The tendency for certain minerals to split easily along lines of weak bonding to produce flat surfaces is called cleavage. Cleavage is described in terms from easiest to hardest to produce: perfect, imperfect, good, distinct, indistinct, and poor. Cleavage is said to be basal when it occurs perpendicular to the major axis of the mineral and prismatic when it occurs parallel to the major axis. Cleavage must obey the symmetry of the mineral and must be parallel to a possible crystal face. |
| Fracture* | How a mineral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way (no cleavage) examples are conchoidal, irregular, earthy (crumbles like dirt) and hackly. |
| Special properties* | Special physical properties that help identify minerals such as smell, magnetism, radioactivity, effervescence, fluorescence, taste, or feel. |
| Fluorescence | Minerals that glow under ultra violet light |
| Triboluminescence | Property of some minerals, such as quartz, to glow when they are struck, scratched, or even rubbed. Their chemical bonds released light energy in response to mechanical energy. |
| Thermoluminescence | Minerals that glow when heated. |
| Phosphorescence | Minerals that continue to emit light after the UV light is no longer on them. The electron in the mineral have the ability to temporarily store the energy of the light. |
| Mineral Formation* | Two ways: melted materials (magma) or dissolved materials (halite) crystallize |
| Magma* | Molten material from the mantle that hardens (cools) to form rock |
| Lava* | Magma that reaches the surface before hardening (cooling) |
| Large Crystals* | Formed when magma cools over many thousands of years (slowly) |
| Small crystals* | Formed when magma cools rapidly, leaving little time for the atoms to bond in crystalline patterns |
| Solution* | A mixture in which one substance (solvent) is dissolved in another |
| Vein | Narrow channel or slab of a mineral that is much different than surrounding rock; formed as solutions seep between cracks in rock and leave their solvents (minerals) behind. |
| Minerals formed by hot water solutions | Water (solvent) heated by earths mantle dissolve many minerals (solutes) from the surrounding rock. When the water cools, minerals precipitate out of solution and crystallize. (silver, gold, ) |
| Minerals formed by evaporation | When the solvents (like water) evaporate, they leave behind the solutes (minerals) such as halite, gypsum, calcite, and potassium. |
| Mineral Distribution | Many minerals are found in areas of volcanic activity due to chemical and geologic processes bringing them together in a more concentrated way. |
| Mineral uses* | Minerals are the sources of metals, gemstones, and many other economically important materials such as building materials. |
| Ore* | A rock that contains a metal or economically useful mineral is called an ore. (Copper comes from chalcopyrite.) |
| Prospector* | A prospector is anyone who searches for mineral or ore deposits. |
| Prospecting | The search for minerals that may involve the use of several geologic techniques. |
| Rock evidence | Geologists observe what kind of rocks are on the land surface for clues to what may exist at a different level. |
| Plant evidence | Geologists examine plants growing in an area to test the presence of certain chemicals. |
| Water evidence | Geologists test the water in the streams in, below, and above an area for the presence of certain chemicals. |
| Seismic evidence | Geologists use seismic records and set seismic blasts to determine the underground density differences. |
| Core drilling | Core samples are taken to analyze the mineral components of an underground area. |
| Geologic maps | Used to make decisions on land, water, and resource use. Can be used to predict mineral deposits |
| Stratigraphic maps | Used to determine the composition of the layers beneath the surface. |
| Mining* | Obtaining minerals from the ground. |
| Strip mining* | The most environmentally damaging type of mining where miners use earthmoving equipment to scrape away soil to expose ore. |
| Pit mining* | The second most environmentally damaging type of mining where miners dig an open pit to remove ores that may start at the surface, but may extend for hundreds of meters below the surface. |
| Shaft mining* | The least damaging type of mining where miners dig a network of tunnels that follow veins of ore deep underground. |
| Smelting* | separate by melting; method used by ore processors to separate the mineral from the ore |
| Alloy* | A solid mixture of two or more metals with special properties. |
