1. Mineral Worksheet #1 Answers and Exam Review
Exam Tomorrow,
March 14th

2. m j o k l g i a b c e d p n h f 1. a. Native Element 2.
The way a mineral reflects or “reacts” to light.
a. Native Element 2.
A mineral’s resistance to being scratched.
b. Cubic 3.
Magnetic
c. Hexagonal 4.
This crystal system has three axes that all intersect at oblique angles.
d. Effervesces 5.
The color of a mineral’s powder when rubbed across an unglazed porcelain plate.
e. Monoclinic 6.
When minerals don’t break along cleavage lines.
f. Crystalline Solid 7.
This crystal system has three axes of different length that intersect at 90 degree angles.
g. Fracture 8.
When a mineral exists as a single element.
h. Color 9.
This crystal system has 3 axes of equal length that intersect at 90 degree angles.
i. Orthorhombic 10
This crystal system has three horizontal axes that are the same length and intersect at 60 degree angles, and one longer vertical axis.
j. Hardness 11
This crystal system has three axes, two of which intersect at right angles and one that intersects the other two a an oblique angle.
k. Triclinic 12
This is when a mineral reacts with a weak acid to produce bubbles.
l. Streak 13
This is the plane or planes in which a mineral tends to split.
m. Luster 14
Glows when a black light is shined on a mineral
n. Fluorescence 15
The most misleading property of a mineral, in terms of determining its identity
o. Magnetic 16
This is something that has its atoms arranged in a repeating pattern.
p. Cleavage m j o k l g i a b c e d p n h f

3. 17. What are four conditions that define a mineral?
naturally occurring
abiotic
repeating pattern of atoms (crystal)
definite chemical composition

4. more than one mineral can have a particular color
18. What is 1 reason that color isn’t a good method of identifying minerals?
more than one mineral can have a particular color
a mineral can exist as more than one color
some minerals change color over time

5. 19. What are the two types of luster?
metallic
non-metallic

6. 20. List as many of the acceptable adjectives for luster as you can
20. List as many of the acceptable adjectives for luster as you can. Next to each adjective, write a description and give one mineral that can be used as an example of that type of luster.
waxy
vitreous
dull
earthy
adamantine
pearly
silky
greasy
resinous
like a candle
glassy
well, dull
no luster
most brilliant
like a pearl
like a silk shirt
an oily sheen
syrupy-shiny
rose quartz
crystal quartz
red hematite
limonite
diamond
muscovite
malachite
talc
sulfur

7. conchoidal even fibrous splintery uneven brittle sectile
21. List as many of the acceptable adjectives for fracture as you can. Next to each, write a description and give one mineral that can be used as an example of that type of fracture.
conchoidal
even
fibrous
splintery
uneven
brittle
sectile
like sea-shell
smooth
stringy
needles
less smooth
crumbly
can be carved
rose quartz
kaolinite
gypsum
malachite
magnetite
limonite
sulfur

8. a reduced vocabulary increases the objectivity and improves accuracy.
22. For properties of luster and fracture, we are restricted in the words we can use. Explain why do we use a reduced vocabulary?
a reduced vocabulary increases the objectivity and improves accuracy.

9. 23. There are a few minerals that you have worked with over the past week that are very distinctive and should be able to be identified by sight only. Name one mineral that you can (or should be able to) identify simply by looking at it. Explain what is so distinctive about this mineral, that allows you (or should) to do this.

10. 24. There are two ways to describe cleavage, describe what they are and how they are used.
quality of the cleavage (how easily it is seen or detected)
the planes (& angles) of the cleavage.

11. 25. Name one mineral that has an easy to see cleavage.

12. 26. List three tests that you could perform on a mineral to help identify it.
- hardness (Moh’s hardness scale) - streaking (to see the color) - weak acid test (effervescence) - black light (fluorescence)

13. 27. Of all the tests that can be performed on a mineral to help identify it, which one is the most useful? Why?

14. 28. Write the defining mineral for each level of the Moh’s Hardness Scale in the table below.
Moh’s Hardness Number
Defining Mineral 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Talc
Gypsum
Calcite
Fluorite
Apatite
Orthoclase Feldspar
Quartz
Topaz
Corundum
Diamond

15. 29. List the tools that are used to determine hardness
29. List the tools that are used to determine hardness. Write the Moh’s hardness number next to each tool.
Tool
Moh’s Hardness Number
Fingernail
Steel Nail
Glass Plate
Streak Plate
2.5
4.5
5.5
5 - 8

16. 30. Why does the hardness of some minerals have such a large range?
- minerals naturally occurring and can vary in hardness because of natural variation

17. 31. List six of the eight most common elements in the earth’s crust?
- oxygen (O)
- silicon (Si)
- aluminum (Al)
- iron (Fe)
- calcium (Ca)
- sodium (Na)
- potassium (K)
- magnesium (Mg)

18. 32. Define the word abiotic?
Natural, but not from or of any biological or living organism.

19. 33. What is one way that minerals form?
- hot magma or lava cools
- water containing minerals evaporates
- sustained heat and pressure change one mineral into another

20. 34. Why do we study minerals?
- minerals are the starting point for understanding ALL geologic phenomena

21. 35. You have studied minerals for approximately two weeks
35. You have studied minerals for approximately two weeks. What is a rock and how is it different than a mineral?
Rocks are made of an aggregate (gathering or mixture bound into one object) of minerals.