Exam 3: Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks

The number of neutrons in an atom always equals the number of protons.

What is the main feature of metallic bonding,and what properties result from this main feature?

The primary occurrence of the rock-forming minerals olivine,pyroxene,and amphibole is:

Isotopes of the same element have:

How many minerals have been identified and described?

Mica and clay minerals have a platy crystal form because they have a sheet-like structure of silica tetrahedra.

The atomic number of an atom is determined by the number of ____________________ in its nucleus.

What is meant when minerals are referred to as "crystalline solids?"

An atom is:

Why do some minerals have a fixed chemical composition and some have a range of compositions? Give an example of a mineral with a range of compositions.

What is the most common mineral group,and what are three common examples?

The chemical formula of halite is NaCl.In simple terms,state how these atoms come together to form a solid mineral.

How does a mineral reserve differ from a mineral resource?

Atoms of the same chemical element,carbon for example,always have the same number of ____________________ in the nucleus.

Olivine is an example of a mineral with isolated silica tetrahedra.

Nearly all types of minerals are beautiful and valuable.

Describe the Mohs hardness scale and list,in increasing order of hardness,the minerals of the Mohs hardness scale.

What does the constancy of interfacial angles refer to? How did Nicholas Steno explain his observation?

A mineral's density is the ratio of its weight relative to the weight of an equal volume of pure water at 4°C.

If a diamond is the hardest naturally occurring substance,how can one be "cut"?