Mineralogy
The study of minerals
Mineral
A naturally occurring, inorganic crystalline material with a unique chemical structure.
Rock
A consolidate mixture of minerals
Atom
The smallest particle that exists as an element
Nucleus
The small, heavy core of an atom that contains all of its positive charge and most of its mass
Proton
A positively charge subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom
Neutron
A subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom. The neutron is electrically neutral, with a mass approximately equal to that of a proton.
Electron
A negatively charge subatomic particle that has a negligible mass and is found outside an atom's nucleus
Valence Electron
The electron involved in the bonding process; the electrons occupying the highest principal energy level of an atom
Atomic Number
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom
Element
A substance that cannot be decomposed into simpler substance by ordinary chemical or physical means
Periodic Table
An arrangement of the elements in which atomic number increase from the left to right and elements with similar properties appear in columns called families or groups.
Chemical Compound
Most elements join with atoms of other elements form chemical compounds
Octet Rule
A rule which states that atoms combine in order that each may have the electron arrangement of noble gas.
Chemical bond
A strong attractive force that exists between atoms in a substance. It involves the transfer or sharing of electrons that allows each atom to attain a full valence shell
Ion
An atom or a molecule that possesses an electrical charge
Ionic bond
A chemical bond between two oppositely charged ions that is formed by the transfer of valence electrons from one atom to the other.
Covalent Bond
A chemical bond produced by the sharing of electrons
Metallic Bond
A chemical bond that is present in all metals that may be characterized as an extreme type of electron sharing in which the electrons move freely from atom to atom
Luster
The appearance of quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral
Color
A phenomenon of light by which otherwise identical objects may be differentiated
Streak
The color of a mineral in powdered from
Crystal Shape (habit)
Refers to the common or characteristic shape of a crystal or an aggregate of crystals
Hardness
A mineral's resistance to scratching and abrasion
Moh's Scale
A series of 10 minerals used as a standard in determining hardness
Cleavage
The tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding
Fracture
Any break or rupture in rock along which no appreciable movement has taken place
Tenacity
Describes a mineral's toughness or resistance to breaking or deforming
Density
A property of matter defined as mass per unit volume
Specific Gravity
The ratio of a substance's weight to the weight of an equal volume of water
Rock- Forming mineral
The relatively few minerals that make up most of the rocks in Earth
Economic Mineral
Less abundant, many other minerals are used extensively in the manufacture of products
Silicate
Any one of numerous minerals that have the silicon- oxygen tetrahedron as their basic structure
Non silicate
A mineral groups are far less abundant in Earth's crust than the silicate, they are often grouped together
Silicon- Oxygen Tetrahedron
A structure composed of four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon atom that constitutes the basic building block of silicate minerals
Polymerization
Is achieved by the sharing of one, two, three, or all four of the oxygen atoms with adjacent tetrahedra
Light (non ferromagnesian) silicate
A silicate mineral that lacks ion and/ or magnesium. Light silicates are generally lighter in color and have lower specific gravities than dark silicates
Dark (ferromagnesian) silicate
A silicate mineral that contains ions of iron and/ or magnesium in its structure. Dark silicates are dark in color and have a higher specific gravity than non ferromagnesian silicate
Renewable
Can be replenished over relatively short time span
Non Renewable
Important metals such as iron, aluminum, and copper fall into this category, as do our most important files: oil, natural gas, and coal
Mineral resource
All discovered and undiscovered deposits of a useful mineral that can be extracted how or at some time in the future
Ore Deposit
A naturally occurring concentration of one or more metallic minerals that can be extracted economically