Minerals Vocabulary

What is a mineral?

• a substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by ordinary chemical changes. An element consists of atoms of only one type.

• a solid substance in which the atoms are arranged in an orderly, repeating, three-dimensional pattern.

• the chemical makeup of an object; what its made of.

• a substance that forms in nature, is a solid, has a definite chemical makeup, and has a crystal structure

What is a Crystal?

• a solid substance in which the atoms are arranged in an orderly, repeating, three-dimensional pattern.

• the second most common group of rock-forming minerals; contain carbon and oxygen

• the chemical makeup of an object; what its made of.

• the most common group of minerals; contain oxygen and silicon; rock-forming minerals

What are Silicates?

• the second most common group of rock-forming minerals; contain carbon and oxygen

• a substance that forms in nature, is a solid, has a definite chemical makeup, and has a crystal structure

• the most common group of minerals; contain oxygen and silicon; rock-forming minerals

• a solid substance in which the atoms are arranged in an orderly, repeating, three-dimensional pattern.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

The color of a mineral powder left behind when a mineral is scraped across a surface; a method for classifying minerals.

• Luster

• cleavage

• fracture

• streak

Which of the following is a type of mineral?

• Igneous

• Metamorphic

• Silicate

• Sedimentary

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

Click on each vocabulary word, then click in the correct box on the graphic organizer.

a

b

c

d

luster

hardness

cleavage

streak

the tendency of a mineral to break into irregular pieces

• fracture

• cleavage

• element

• Mohs scale

Hardness is .....

• The property of a mineral that describes its tendency to break along flat surfaces.

• A solid substance in which the atoms are arranged in an orderly, repeating, three-dimensional pattern.

• The resistance of a mineral or other material to being scratched.

• A substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by ordinary chemical changes. An element consists of atoms of only one type.

Mohs Scale is....

• A substance that forms in nature, is a solid, has a definite chemical makeup, and has a crystal structure

• A substance that cannot be broken down into a simpler substance by ordinary chemical changes. An element consists of atoms of only one type

• The most common group of minerals; contain oxygen and silicon; rock-forming minerals

• A scale used to describe a mineral’s hardness; based on the fact that a harder mineral will scratch a softer

The property of a mineral that describes the way in which light

• Luster

• cleavage

• fracture

• hardness