Deck 3: Minerals: The Building Blocks of Rocks

Question 1

The nucleus of an atom ____.

A)is often as large as the atom's diameter
B)contains negatively charged protons
C)sometimes contains no protons
D)forms bonds with other atomic nuclei
E)contains electrically neutral neutrons

Answer 1

contains electrically neutral neutrons

Question 2

A compound is formed when the number of neutrons in an atom is not equal to the number of protons.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A combination of silicon, hydrogen, and oxygen is known as silica.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

What is an atom?

A)a negatively charged particle that circles a nucleus
B)a positively charged particle within a nucleus
C)the smallest particle into which an element can be divided while still retaining the chemical characteristics of that element
D)a combination of elements
E)a particle in the nucleus that has no charge

Question 5

All minerals are compounds.

Question 6

All minerals ____.

A)are crystalline, inorganic, and naturally occurring
B)contain at least three separate elements
C)are found deep within Earth's core
D)cleave
E)are either ferromagnesian or nonferromagnesian silicates

Question 7

Elements bond together to form molecules because they ____.

A)are most stable when their outer electron shell is filled
B)need to have a positive charge
C)need to have a negative charge
D)are glued together by protons
E)are pulled by electromagnetic forces

Question 8

Noble gases are chemically inert because their outer electron shell is filled.

Question 9

Luster is the quality and intensity of light reflected from a mineral's surface.

Question 10

A positively charged atom of an element is called a(n)____.

A)positron
B)neutron
C)ion
D)isotope
E)isomer

Question 11

Animal matter and vegetable matter can sometimes be minerals.

Question 12

Specific gravity is the ratio of a mineral's weight to the weight of an equal volume of water at four degrees Celsius.

Question 13

Isotopes of the same element ____.

A)cause the same element to cleave differently
B)drastically change the element's chemical properties
C)have different numbers of neutrons but the same number of protons
D)often combine to form ions
E)must be negatively charged

Question 14

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

Question 15

The agents that cause metamorphism are responsible for the origin of many minerals.

Question 16

For a neutrally-charged atom to become a positively-charged atom of the same element, it must ____.

A)lose a proton
B)lose an electron
C)gain a proton
D)gain a neutron
E)form a covalent bond

Question 17

Minerals are ____.

A)formed quickly deep within Earth's core
B)often found in their liquid form
C)all extremely hard
D)the building blocks of rocks
E)never composed of any radioactive isotopes

Question 18

Rocks are always composed of more than one type of mineral.

Question 19

What are the relatively massive, positively-charged particles in the nucleus of an atom called?

A)protons
B)neutrons
C)electrons
D)quarks
E)leptons

Question 20

Ionic bonds occur when electrons ____.

A)are transferred between atoms
B)are shared by atoms
C)lose their noble gas properties
D)have a positive charge
E)become separated from their atoms

Question 21

Which group consists entirely of minerals?

A)bronze, steel, glass, and aluminum
B)gold, silver, coal, lead, and silica
C)copper, ice, quartz, and diamond
D)water, mercury, and limestone
E)petroleum, coal, iron, and feldspar

Question 22

A mineral's resistance to abrasion is called ____.

A)toughness
B)rigidity
C)hardness
D)strength
E)resilience

Question 23

The basic building block of all silicate minerals is the silica ____.

A)tetrahedron
B)backbone
C)scaffolding
D)skeleton
E)layer

Question 24

Cleavage is ____.

A)the breaking of minerals along smooth planes of weakness determined by the strength of their chemical bonds
B)not useful for mineral identification
C)determined by how many different elements are combined in the formation of a particular mineral
D)the breaking of minerals along planes of fracture resulting from strong hydrogen bonds
E)mineral breakage along irregular surfaces

Question 25

A resource is a naturally occurring concentration of solid, liquid, or gaseous material in or on Earth's crust in such a form and amount that economic extraction of a commodity is ____.

A)convenient and not labor intensive
B)currently or potentially feasible
C)always highly profitable
D)beneficial to the landscape and ecosystem
E)not energetically wasteful

Question 26

An example of a precious metal is ____.

A)platinum
B)copper
C)plutonium
D)mercury
E)uranium

Question 27

How many potassium atoms are in orthoclase (KAlSi₃O₈)?

A)0
B)1
C)3
D)8
E)11

Question 28

Any aspect of geology concerned with the search for minerals and rocks of economic value is called ____ geology.

A)exploratory
B)resource
C)reserve
D)mineral
E)economic

Question 29

Most sand on beaches, in desert dunes, and in stream and river channels is made up of ____.

A)CaCO₃
B)NaCl
C)SiO₂
D)CaSO₄
E)2H₂O

Question 30

____ has a distinctive soap feel, ____ writes on paper, and ____ tastes salty.

A)Graphite; gypsum; calcite
B)Graphite; halite; talc
C)Talc; lead; quartz
D)Talc; graphite; halite
E)Quartz; calcite; halite

Question 31

An atom of sodium (Na)has a single electron in its outer shell and an atom of chlorine (Cl)has seven (7)electrons in its outer shell. What happens when these two elements bond?

A)Sodium becomes negatively charged.
B)The compound becomes poisonous.
C)Sodium shares its electron with chlorine.
D)Chlorine becomes positively charged.
E)There is a transfer of one electron from sodium to chlorine.

Question 32

Some atoms and molecules have a weak attractive force between them called ____.

A)a van der Waals bond
B)nonferromagnetism
C)a noble gas bond
D)a metallic bond
E)isotopic attraction

Question 33

An example of a native element is ____.

A)mica
B)biotite
C)calcite
D)silver
E)gypsum

Question 34

All silicate minerals contain the elements silicon and ____.

A)hydrogen
B)helium
C)carbon
D)sodium
E)oxygen

Question 35

The chemical formula of calcium carbonate is CaCO₃. The number three (3)in this formula represents the ratio of ____ in the mineral.

A)calcium atoms to carbon atoms
B)oxygen atoms to carbon atoms
C)carbonate atoms to oxygen atoms
D)oxygen electrons to oxygen atoms
E)carbon electron to oxygen atoms

Question 36

Accessory minerals ____.

A)are present in large quantities in rocks
B)are easily leached from the mineral crystal structure
C)always fracture rather than cleave
D)make up the structure of clam shells
E)are not useful for identification and classification of rocks

Question 37

Feldspars ____.

A)are only abundant deep in Earth's core
B)never have a tetrahedral crystal structure
C)are nonferromagnesian silicates
D)are carbonate minerals
E)have iron as a major element

Question 38

A mineral's specific gravity and density ____.

A)are always different
B)cannot be calculated with a small specimen
C)are calculated based on the specific gravity and density of denatured alcohol
D)change with elevation
E)are controlled by its structure and composition

Question 39

All carbon atoms have six (6)protons but the number of neutrons can be six (6), seven (7), or eight (8). Different neutron numbers ____.

A)force the atom to bond with elements that it normally would not
B)change the atom's atomic mass number and make it an isotope
C)cause the atom to be more or less reactive
D)change the atom's atomic mass number and make it an ion
E)cause the atom to be unstable

Question 40

In different specimens of the same mineral, the interfacial angles between crystal faces are ____.

A)greater than 90 degrees
B)less than 90 degrees
C)identical
D)always 180 degrees
E)impossible to predict

Question 41

How is most calcite formed?

Question 42

List the four types of matter. Then define the term mineral. How do minerals differ from other forms of matter?

Question 43

Most natural resources are non-renewable. What does this mean?

Question 44

What is a simple chemical test that will distinguish calcite from non-carbonate minerals?

Question 45

The two basic types of luster are ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 46

The two major mineral groups recognized by geologists are ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 47

Most common minerals can be identified by using several different physical properties. One of these is the density, or ____________________, of the mineral.

Question 48

The two factors which determine whether or not an element can substitute for another element in the composition of a mineral are the ____________________ and ____________________ of the atoms.

Question 49

The two most common elements in Earth's crust are ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 50

Define bonding, ionic bonding, and covalent bonding. Why is bonding important in the formation of minerals?

Question 51

Different isotopes of the same element differ from each other in that they have different ____________________ numbers.

Question 52

Not all rigid substances are crystalline solids; natural and manufactured glass lack the ordered arrangement of atoms and are said to be ____________________, meaning "without form."

Question 53

List the three elementary particles found in an atom and give the electrical charge of each.

Question 54

Minerals that possess ____________________ break, or split, along smooth planes of weakness determined by the strength of their chemical bonds. In contrast, a(n)____________________ is mineral breakage along irregular surfaces.

Question 55

Differentiate between a resource and a reserve. Provide an example of the economic importance of this difference.

Question 56

Cooling of molten rock material known as ____________________ is one phenomenon that accounts for the origin of minerals.

Question 57

Carbon-12 (C¹²), carbon-13 (C¹³), and carbon-14 (C¹⁴)are all ____________________ of the ____________________ carbon.

Question 58

How many different minerals have been identified and described?