Exam 1: Matter and Minerals

What element is the most abundant in the Earth's crust by weight?

An aggregate of one or more minerals is called a(n)________.

Two feldspar samples are placed before you. Sample A is gray and shows striations on its surface, and Sample B is pink-colored, like fresh salmon. Sample A must be ________ and Sample B is likely to be ________.

Quartz, by definition, is a dark silicate mineral.

The smallest particle of matter that exhibits and defines the distinctive chemical characteristics of an individual element is a neutron.

All compounds are minerals.

In silicate minerals, silicon-oxygen tetrahedra may be bonded together to form ________.

Which the following are the positively charged particles in an atom's nucleus?

Common minerals that exhibit a single plane of cleavage are the micas. An example of a mica is ________.

Which of the following properties would be least useful for identifying a sample of calcite?

Imagine you are handed a mineral sample. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, but displays no cleavage. It does not react with hydrochloric acid, is a light pink color, and has a nonmetallic luster. It is harder than a streak plate, and has a specific gravity of 2.65. What mineral is it?

When in contact with hydrochloric acid, which mineral gives off bubbles of carbon dioxide gas?

Use the accompanying figure of the Mohs scale of hardness to answer this question. If you have a mineral sample that is capable of scratching a penny but is scratched by a wire nail, its hardness must be ________.

Match the items in the first column with the correct descriptions in the second column. A)a mineral consisting of a poisonous gas ionically bonded to an extremely reactive metal. B)an item that is solid like a mineral, has definite chemical composition, and shows distinctive physical properties, but is not naturally occurring. C)a silicate mineral which has silicon-oxygen tetrahedra bonded in single-chained formation along with iron or magnesium atoms. D)a rock composed of nonmineral matter. E)an item that is solid like a mineral, has definite chemical composition, and shows distinctive physical properties, but does not have an orderly crystalline structure. F)a mineral in the carbonate family; showing three planes of cleavage and a fizzing reaction to hydrochloric acid. G)a mineral made of oxidized hydrogen. H)silicate mineral consisting solely of silicon and oxygen, with silicon-oxygen tetrahedra bonded in a complex three-dimensional network. -1)ice 2)dinner plate 3)quartz 4)glass 5)halite 6)coal 7)calcite 8)pyroxene

Due to the arrangement of weaker bonds in their crystal lattice, the tendency of certain minerals to break along smooth, parallel planes is known as ________.

Compare and contrast the light silicate minerals and dark silicate minerals, and give examples of each.

Label each of the five atoms in this silicon-oxygen tetrahedron.

Specific gravity is defined as mass per unit volume.

The central region of an atom is the nucleus.

If a mineral has a specific gravity of 3, it must be ________ times as dense as water.