Question 1

Which of the following statements is not true about individual minerals?

Accepted Answer

A)  The composition of different minerals varies only slightly. 
B)  Minerals can be produced by animals. 
C)  Minerals have an ordered structure. 
D)  Minerals can be synthetically manufactured.

Question 2

You boil water in a pot and find that there is a white coating lining the inside of the pot after you are done. What happened?

Accepted Answer

A)  The pot must have had a mineral in it already and water stirred it up. 
B)  The pot was dirty. 
C)  Water evaporated and left bacteria on the inside of the pot. 
D)  The mineral precipitated from the water as the water boiled off as steam.

Question 3

Cleavage planes form where bonds are weakest in minerals.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 4

What constitutes a mineral? (2.5)

Accepted Answer

The answer of What constitutes a mineral? (2.5)...

Question 5

What factor increases the hardness of ionic substances?

Accepted Answer

A)  the presence of more free electrons 
B)  an increased charge on the ions 
C)  a decreased charge on the ions 
D)  multiple bonds

Question 6

Of the 89 naturally occurring elements, how many are needed to account for 99.7 percent of the mass of Earth's crust?

Accepted Answer

A)  42 
B)  21 
C)  12 
D)  10

Question 7

A mineral has the physical property of strong luster. What can be inferred about the elemental makeup?

Accepted Answer

A)  The mineral could be made up of nonmetals. 
B)  The mineral could be made up of condensed liquids. 
C)  The mineral could be made up of metals. 
D)  The mineral could be made up of condensed gases.

Question 8

Freely roaming electrons in a material tend to make it a conductor of electricity. What other property do freely roaming electrons have an effect upon?

Accepted Answer

A)  color 
B)  luster 
C)  cleavage 
D)  density

Question 9

How does bonding affect the hardness of a crystal?

Accepted Answer

A)  Covalently bonded crystals are harder than ionically bonded crystals. 
B)  Ionically bonded crystals are harder than covalently bonded crystals. 
C)  Some ionically bonded crystals are harder than covalently bonded crystals, depending on the charges of ions involved. 
D)  Some covalently bonded crystals are harder than ionically bonded crystals.

Question 10

A mineral may vary in color, but its streak color is always the same.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Ionic bonds are found in calcite. What could this suggest about its physical properties?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is bright white. 
B)  It is malleable. 
C)  It is a conductor of electricity. 
D)  It is a softer mineral.

Question 12

What do muscovite and biotite have in common?

Accepted Answer

A)  They have identical chemical compositions. 
B)  They are the same color. 
C)  They have the same type of cleavage. 
D)  They have the same luster.

Question 13

Which is a condition in which an element substitution could occur?

Accepted Answer

A)  an ion is much larger than the one it will replace 
B)  an ion has a +4 charge, and it will replace an ion with a +3 charge 
C)  an ion has an equal charge to the one it will replace 
D)  an ion is much smaller than the one it ill replace

Question 14

A mineral has a value of 8 on the Mohs hardness scale. What could this represent?

Accepted Answer

A)  The mineral is relatively hard. 
B)  The mineral is the hardest of all minerals. 
C)  The mineral is relatively soft. 
D)  The mineral is the softest of all minerals.

Question 15

Why does the silica tetrahedron bond with one or more ions with a negative charge?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why does the silica tetrahedron bond with...

Question 16

What is the unit of increase on the Mohs Relative Hardness Scale?

Accepted Answer

A)  An increase of one unit indicates the rock is twice as hard as the one before. 
B)  An increase of one unit indicates the rock is seven times as hard as the one before. 
C)  An increase of one unit indicates the rock is ten times as hard as the one before. 
D)  The scale is variable.

Question 17

Where on the earth is olivine typically found?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Where on the earth is olivine typically...

Question 18

Carbon and oxygen atoms do not show up as well as calcium and magnesium atoms on a transmission electron microscope image of dolomite. Why?

Accepted Answer

A)  There are not as many carbon and oxygen atoms. 
B)  Carbon and oxygen gases are transparent to light. 
C)  The electrons are not as densely packed in carbon and oxygen. 
D)  Transmission electron microscopes perform better on metals than nonmetals.

Question 19

Why does graphite feel slippery to the touch?

Accepted Answer

A)  Graphite is soft and easily crushes into powder. 
B)  Graphite atoms have many free electrons. 
C)  Graphite absorbs water from the air so the surface always feels slippery. 
D)  The carbon atoms in graphite are spaced closely together.

Question 20

Which of the silicate structures would you expect to be the most stable and resistant to weathering at Earth's surface? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the silicate structures would you...

Exam 2: Minerals: Building Blocks of the Planet