Mineral Homework – Physical Geology Text – Chapter 2
Adv. Earth Science
___________________
Name
1. Oxygen plus silicon is called ________________________.
2. __________________ are substances that contain silica as part of their chemical formula.
3. A ________________ substance is one in which the atoms are arranged in a regularly repeating,
orderly pattern (like in MC Esher’s print in Fig. 2.6).
4. The basic building block of most common minerals is the ________________ _______________, a
4-sided, pyramid-like, geometric shape that represents visually four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon
atom (Fig. 2.7)
5. In silicate minerals having an _________________ _____________________ ________________,
none of the oxygen atoms are shared by tetrahedrons, and individual silica tetrahedrons are bonded by
positively charged ions (Fig. 2.9).
6. In _________________ ____________________ ____________________, 2 of each tetrahedron’s
oxygen atoms are shared with adjacent tetrahedrons, resulting in a chain of tetrahedrons (Fig. 2.11).
7. In _________________ ____________________ _____________________, each tetrahedron is
linked to others by 3 shared oxygen ions. The positive ions are sandwiched in between (Fig. 2.9).
8. In ________________ _____________________ _____________________, all 4 of the oxygen
atoms are shared by adjacent tetrahedrons.
9. The definition of a _________________________ is (1) must be a crystalline solid, (2) must be
naturally occurring, (3) be inorganic, and (4) have a definite chemical composition.
10. Most minerals are ___________________ because they contain silica. Over 90% of minerals fall in
this category. (page 35)
11. ________ ____________________ are economic minerals of commercial value (in other words, they
are worth $). Most of them are/are not (circle one) silicates.
12. ______________________ (calcium carbonate, CaCO3) is the most common non-silicate mineral. It
is the main mineral ingredient in marble and limestone rocks.
13. Because _______________ is so obvious, beginning students tend to rely too heavily on it as a key to
mineral identification. (page 36). __________________ varies a lot in many minerals because chemical
impurities can strongly influence it. The same mineral may have many different shades of ___________.
14. The color of the pulverized, ground up part of a mineral as you scrape it across a piece of unglazed
porcelain tile plate is called _______________.
15. ___________________ is the quality and intensity of the way light is reflected off a mineral. It is
either metallic or non-metallic.
16. Minerals that do NOT have metallic luster are described as having ______________
_____________. The most important types are _______________ (also called vitreous) luster,
descriptive of substances having a shiny or glazed appearance and ________________ luster, which looks
like unglazed pottery or clay.
17. The property of ______________, or “scratchability”, indicates a mineral’s resistance to abrasion.
(fig. 2.13). ____________ _______________ scale is used to determine this.
18. Minerals have a definite set pattern of geometry that gives it flat sides (also called “faces”). This is
referred to as a mineral’s _______________ __________ (fig. 2.14).
18. The ability of a mineral to break along preferred flat planes is called _________________ (fig. 2.20).
19. ___________________ is the way minerals break when NOT controlled by cleavage (example:
glass does this).
20. _______________ ___________________ is the ratio of the mass of a mineral compared to the
mass of an equal volume of water. This is a comparison of density.
21. ____________________ are straight parallel lines on the flat side of a mineral (fig. 2.24).
22. If you put a clear transparent piece of calcite over a piece of paper with writing on it, you will see the
property of _________________ _____________________, caused by the light being split as it goes
through (fig. 2.25).