Name:__________________________ Date:_________________
Class Period:______________
Mineral vocabulary study guide
Word Bank:
inorganic
solid
chemical composition
naturally occurring
crystalline
What is a mineral?
Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. A mineral is defined as being naturally
occurring or made from elements within the Earth. Minerals are not alive or were
never alive. They are made of inorganic natural materials. Minerals are solid
objects with crystailline faces. Each mineral has its own chemical composition that
defines its characteristics.
Name the 4 characteristics of a mineral.
1. naturally occurring
2. inorganic
3. crystalline solid
4. consistent chemical compostion
What does it mean to be naturally occurring?
a. It is made in a factory
b. It was designed using an iPad
c. Made from the elements in the Earth
d. It was looked up on the internet
What is inorganic?
a. Currently alive
b. Never been alive and never will be alive
c. Was alive 1 million years ago
d. An egg waiting to hatch
What is a solid?
a. An object with definite shape and volume
b. An object that can change shape
c. An object that has volume
d. An object that fills the shape of the container it is in
Crystalline faces are a result of repeating pattern of atoms.
a. True
b. False
Name:__________________________ Date:_________________
Each mineral of the same type has a different chemical composition.
a. True
b. False
Class Period:______________
List the 5 properties of minerals.
1. streak
2. hardness
3. color
4. cleavage and fracture
5. luster
What is the least reliable test for identifying a mineral? Why?
color
Minerals of the same type can form in different colors. You can’t always tell what
a mineral is by its color.
What is the streak of a mineral?
a. The color of a mineral.
b. The band of color you see on the outside of a mineral.
c. The way a mineral smells
d. The color of the powder the mineral leaves on the streak plate.
Luster is how a mineral reflects light.
a. True
b. False
What are the two types of luster?
1. Metallic
2. Nonmetallic
What are the tools used to check hardness?
1.
2.
3.
4.
fingernail
copper penny
glass plate
steel nail
What is hardness?
a. How strong a mineral is when you hit it with a hammer
b. A minerals ability to resist scratching.
c. The color on the streak plate
d. How a mineral breaks
Name:__________________________ Date:_________________
Class Period:______________
What is cleavage?
a. The tendency of a mineral to break along smooth straight planes
b. How a mineral feels in your hand
c. A tool used to test streak
d. The true color of a mineral
What is fracture?
a. The cracks in a mineral
b. The hardness of a mineral
c. The way a mineral looks under a microscope
d. The tendency of a mineral to break on curved lines with no definite shape