3.1 Defining Minerals

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of minerals according to the text?

• Minerals are naturally formed.

• Minerals are organic.

• Minerals have a crystalline structure.

• Minerals are solid.

What determines the shape of a mineral?

• Its color

• Its size

• Its crystalline structure

• Its weight

Why are diamonds that are made by people not considered minerals?

• They are not solid.

• They are not naturally formed.

• They do not have a crystalline structure.

• They are not inorganic.

What are elements?

• Substances that can be broken down into simpler substances.

• Substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances.

• Mixtures of two or more minerals.

• Inorganic compounds.

What is a compound in the context of minerals?

• A substance made of atoms from only one element.

• A substance made of molecules from two or more different elements.

• A naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition.

• A substance made of two or more elements that are physically combined.

What is the smallest part of an element that has the properties of that element?

• A molecule

• A compound

• An atom

• A crystal

What causes minerals to form crystals?

• The random arrangement of atoms in a mineral.

• The melting of minerals into a liquid form.

• The atoms in the mineral lining up in a regular pattern.

• The compression of minerals under high pressure.

According to geologists, what is true about the crystalline structure of minerals?

• Each mineral can form crystals of many different shapes.

• No two minerals have the same crystalline structure.

• Each mineral forms only one shape of crystal.

• Minerals do not have a definite crystalline structure.

What shape are gold crystals?

• Spherical

• Cubic

• Hexagonal

• Tetrahedral

What percentage of the Earth's crust is made up of silicate minerals?

• Less than 50%

• More than 90%

• About 70%

• Exactly 80%