TEST Chapter 2: Minerals Earth Honors
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. Which of the following is NOT one of the eight most common elements in Earth’s continental crust? a. carbon b. silicon c. oxygen d. aluminum
____ 2. The most abundant element in Earth’s continental crust (by weight) is ____. a. oxygen c. calcium b. silicon d. iron
____ 3. What are the building blocks of minerals? a. rocks b. elements c. isotopes d. electrons
____ 4. The central region of an atom is called the ____. a. proton b. electron c. nucleus d. neutron
____ 5. The smallest particle of an element that still retains all the element’s properties is a(n) ____. a. compound c. isotope b. atom d. mineral
____ 6. When two or more elements bond together in definite proportions, they form a(n) ____. a. ion b. atom c. nucleus d. compound
____ 7. Which subatomic particles are most involved in chemical bonding? a. protons c. neutrons b. electrons d. isotopes
____ 8. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of minerals? a. crystalline structure c. definite chemical composition b. formed by inorganic processes d. either liquid or solid
____ 9. What is a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with an orderly crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition? a. a mineral b. an element c. an isotope d. a compound
____ 10. Why is ice in a glacier considered to be a mineral, but water from a glacier is not? a. Water is not naturally occurring. b. Water does not have a chemical composition. c. Ice is not naturally occurring. d. Ice is a solid, but water is not.
____ 11. Minerals form from bodies of water due to the process of ____. a. condensation c. melting b. precipitation d. cooling
____ 12. The process of mineral formation from magma is called ____. a. evaporation c. crystallization b. precipitation d. melting
____ 13. Mineral formation caused by high pressures and high temperatures would most likely occur in which of the following environments? a. a lava flow b. the ocean c. a cave d. deep within Earth

____ 14. Minerals are classified by ____. a. color b. composition c. size d. density
____ 15. A mineral that contains carbon, oxygen, and the metallic element magnesium would be classified as a(n)
____. a. silicate b. oxide c. carbonate d. sulfate
____ 16. The building block of the silicate minerals is called the ____. a. silicon-oxygen tetrahedron c. silicon-oxygen triangle b. aluminum-oxygen tetrahedron d. silicon-aluminum triangle
____ 17. Minerals with the silicon-oxygen structure, shown in Figure 2-1, are classified into what group? a. sulfates c. carbonates b. oxides d. silicates
____ 18. All minerals in the sulfate and sulfide groups contain what element? a. silicon c. oxygen b. sulfur d. carbon
____ 19. The most common mineral group in Earth’s crust is the ____. a. oxides c. sulfides b. carbonates d. silicates
____ 20. To which mineral group does orthoclase feldspar (KAlSi O ) belong? a. the oxides b. the carbonates c. the silicates d. the halides
____ 21. Which of the following properties is generally the least useful in identifying minerals? a. hardness c. cleavage b. streak d. color
____ 22. The color of a mineral, such as fluorite, changes due to ____. a. small amounts of different elements b. differences in the hardness c. differences in the crystal structure d. differences in the density
____ 23. The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral is called ____. a. streak c. cleavage b. color d. luster
____ 24. The resistance of a mineral to being scratched is called ____. a. streak c. hardness b. fracture d. cleavage
____ 25. The color of the powdered form of a mineral is called ____. a. cleavage c. luster b. streak d. fracture
____ 26. Mohs scale is used to determine what property of minerals? a. cleavage c. hardness b. density d. luster
____ 27. What is the hardness of an unknown mineral that scratches glass, but will not scratch quartz? a. 5.0 c. 6.0 b. 7.5 d. 8.0
____ 28. The tendency of minerals to break along smooth flat surfaces is called ____. a. fracture c. streak b. cleavage d. crystal form

____ 29. What is the uneven breakage of a mineral called? a. fracture c. crystal form b. cleavage d. hardness
____ 30. What determines whether a mineral will show cleavage or break in irregular fractures? a. hardness c. internal atomic structure b. external shape d. density
____ 31. What is density of a mineral? a. the ratio of a mineral’s mass to its volume b. the ratio of a mineral’s height to its weight c. a mineral’s mass d. a mineral’s volume
____ 32. Which of the following minerals will fizz in contact with hydrochloric acid? a. quartz c. fluorite b. calcite d. gold
____ 33. What property can be used to distinguish talc and gypsum? a. Talc has a soapy feel. c. Talc fizzes with hydrochloric acid. b. Gypsum has a soapy feel. d. Gypsum can scratch glass.
____ 34. What determines the properties of a mineral? a. size and shape b. composition and age c. composition and structure d. structure and size
Completion
Complete each sentence or statement.
35. A naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has an orderly crystalline structure and a definite chemical composition is a(n) ____________________.
36. Silicon and oxygen combine to form the framework of the most common mineral group, the
____________________ minerals.
37. Small amounts of different elements in the same mineral can change the ____________________ of the mineral.
38. When minerals form slowly without space restrictions, they will develop ____________________.
39. The tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding is called ____________________.
40. The mineral ____________________ is strongly magnetic.
Short Answer
41. List the two most common elements, along with their chemical symbols, found in Earth’s continental crust.
42. What are the four major processes by which minerals form?
43. Why is color often an unreliable property in identifying minerals?
44. Why do some minerals exhibit cleavage while others have fracture?
45. Describe the mineral property of calcite known as double refraction.