Geology and Mineralogy Terms

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Organic

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Refers to substances that are derived from living organisms.

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Inorganic

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Refers to substances that are not derived from living organisms.

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Oxygen

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A chemical element with symbol O, essential for most life forms on Earth.

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Silicates

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Minerals that contain silicon and oxygen, and usually one or more other elements.

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Evaporation

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The process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.

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Hardness

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A measure of how resistant a mineral is to scratching.

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Streak

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The color of a mineral in powdered form.

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Cleavage

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The tendency of a mineral to break along flat planar surfaces as determined by the structure of its crystal lattice.

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Mohs Scale

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A scale of hardness used in classifying minerals, ranging from talc (1) to diamond (10).

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Fracture

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The manner in which a mineral breaks other than along planes of cleavage.