Rocks and Minerals Vocabulary

A naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition

• Mineral

• Rocks

• Fracture

• Extrusive Rock

Not formed from living things or the remains of living things

• Luster

• foliation

• Inorganic

• deposition

Naturally occurring solids made of minerals or mineral-like substances

• Mineral

• Composition

• Mohs Hardness Scale

• Rock

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

The unique arrangement of atoms in a crystal which gives it a 3D appearance

• Cleavage

• Crystal Structure

• Fracture

• Grains

The special combination of the parts or elements that make up something such a rocks

• Composition

• Luster

• Texture

• Compactation

The way a mineral reflects light from its surface

• Fracture

• Luster

• Texture

• Crystal Structure

A scale ranking ten minerals from softest to hardest; used in testing the hardness of minerals

• Fracture

• Texture

• Mohs Hardness Scale

• Composition

A minerals ability to split easily along flat surfaces

• Cleavage

• Fracture

• Grains

• Texture

The way a mineral looks when it breaks apart irregularly

• Cleavage

• Fracture

• Grains

• Texture

The particles of minerals or other rocks that give a rock its texture

• Crystal Structure

• Luster

• Composition

• Grains