Iclicker Mineral and Rock Book Reviews

Question 1Which of the following is not a

characteristic of a mineral? What are the 5 characteristics of a mineral?

A. Naturally occurringB. OrganicC. SolidD. Specific Chemical

CompositionE. Definite crystalline

Structure

The five Characteristics of a mineral are

• Naturally occurring• Inorganic (meaning it was

never alive or that it doesn’t contain carbon and hydrogen bonds

• Solid• Specific Chemical

Composition• Definite crystalline Structure

Cubic

Question 2

What must a carbonate mineral contain?

A. Silicon and oxygenB. metallic element with

the carbonate compound

C. Iron and oxygenD. Metal element and

sulfur.E. Carbonate and oxygen

– Carbonates, a type of mineral are;

– composed of one or more metallic elements with the carbonate compound CO3.

– the primary mineral found in rocks such as limestone and marble.

Question 3

Which is the least useful characteristic in identifying mineral types?

A. StreakB. CleavageC. HardnessD. ColorE. Luster

Color is one of the least reliable clues to a mineral’s identity– trace elements or

compounds within a mineral can change its color.

Even though these mineral samples are not the same color, they are both quartz. Amethyst is quartz that is purple. The purple color of the quartz comes from a tiny amount of iron in the crystal. The iron in quartz is a chemical impurity because it is not normally found in quartz. The white quartz on the left appears slightly purple only because it is on a purple background.

Question 4

What mineral property is being illustrated in the following picture?

A. StreakB. HardnessC. CleavageD. Fracture

• Cleavage some minerals split easily and evenly along one or more flat planes.

• It is caused by tendency of a mineral to split in certain preferred directions when struck. These directions are parallel to sheets of atoms in the mineral's atomic lattice.

Fracture is the ability of minerals to break with arclike, rough, or jagged edges.Conchoidal - a 'shell-like', convex or concave fracture displaying curved fracture or undulation rings concentric to the point of impact and lines or fractures radial from the point of impact, as in quartz, flint and obsidian.

Question 5

What mineral characteristic is being illustrated in the following picture.

A. StreakB. CleavageC. HardnessD. ColorE. Luster

Streak is the color of the fine powder of a mineral obtained by scratching or rubbing against a hard white surface. Usually glazed porcelain.• Sometimes, a mineral’s streak

does not match the mineral’s external color

Question 6

The Moh’s scale which gives each mineral a rating that ranges from 1-10 where a 10 can scratch all other #s is related to which mineral property.

A. StreakB. CleavageC. HardnessD. ColorE. Luster

Hardness is a measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched.– one of the most useful

and reliable tests for identifying minerals

Question 7

What is one of the key parts of a mineral deposit being classified as an ore?

A. It’s rarityB. It’s beauty and clarityC. It’s usefulness aloneD. It’s ability to be

extracted for profitE. It’s weight

• An ore is a mineral that contains a useful substance that can be mined at a profit.

• If the cost of separating waste material from ore becomes higher than the value of the ore itself, then the mineral is no longer considered to be an ore.

– The classification of a mineral as an ore may also change if the supply of or demand for that mineral changes.

Question 8

What is the process of creating useful landscapes that meet a variety of goals, typically creating productive ecosystems from mined land?

A. RecyclingB. ConservationC. GradingD. ReperationsE. Reclamation

• In reclamation waste dumps or mine sites are contoured to flatten them out, to further stabilize them against erosion.

• They are covered with topsoil, and vegetation is planted to help consolidate the material.

• This helps runoff move slower over the land and create less erosion in the area.

• Depending on the situation and desired use it could then be used as a natural area again.

Question 9

What would the rock type be for section “B”?

A. IgneousB. SedimentaryC. MetamorphicD. ClasticE. Foliated

Question 10Both of the following

pictures are of igneous rocks. When comparing the two the first one the left would be what type of classification?

A. ClasticB. FoliatedC. Non-foliatedD. IntrusiveE. Extrusive

• Extrusive - fine-grained igneous rocks that cool quickly on Earth’s surface.

• Intrusive - coarse-grained igneous rocks that cool slowly beneath Earth’s surface.

• By cooling under the Earth’s surface intrusive rocks have longer to cool which allows more time for crystal grains to collect and creates a grainer appearance.

Question 11

Both of the following pictures are of igneous rocks. When comparing the two the first one the left would be what type of classification?

A. MaficB. FelsicC. FoliatedD. Non-foliatedE. Clastic

Igneous rocks are classified by what minerals they contain and their specific density a product of those minerals.

Felsic rocks are light-colored minerals that are higher in silica contents and are lighter elements.

Mafic rocks are dark-colored, have lower silica contents, and are rich in iron and magnesium which are heaver and denser elements .

Question 12Which of the following are not

one of the classifications of sedimentary rocks?

A. ClasticB. ChemicalC. OrganicD. CrystalizedE. B and D

• The classification of sedimentary rocks is based on how they were formed.

• Clastic rocks are formed from deposits of loose sediments that are cemented together.

• Chemical rocks are formed during chemical weathering, minerals can be dissolved and carried into lakes and oceans. Then when that water evaporates or becomes saturated (water can’t hold any more dissolved minerals) the crystal grains precipitate out of solution and settle to the bottom and cement together.

• Organic sedimentary rocks are formed from the remains of once-living things.

• Over long periods of time, thick layers of vegetation slowly accumulate in swamps and coastal areas and are buried and compressed into rocks.

Question 13

If a rock completely melts can it form a metamorphic rock still?

A. YesB. NoC. Maybe

• Metamorphic rock forms when high temperature and high pressure alter:

1. Texture2. Type of minerals 3. Chemical composition

• However they do not completely melt they are just altered by the high heat.

Question 14With plate tectonic movement

and the covergence of two plates where subduction occurs over a large area what kind of metamorphism is taking place?

A. FelsicB. MaficC. RegionalD. ContactE. Chemical

When high temperature and pressure affect large regions crust regional metamorphism is taking place.

• This can take place over whole plate boundaries for 100 to 1000 of miles.

Contact metamorphism affects a much smaller area than reg. meta.

1. Rocks in contact with magma are heated.

2. Heated rocks expand resulting in increased pressure

3. Heat and increased pressure causes recrystallization of minerals.

Question 15

Both of the following pictures are of metamorphic rocks. When comparing the two the first one the left would be what type of classification?

A. MaficB. FelsicC. FoliatedD. Non-foliatedE. Clastic

Foliated metamorphic rocks are characterized by wavy layers and bands of minerals.

• Foliated metamorphic rock banding and regrouping of its mineral constituents as a result of enormous pressures and heat. The banding forms perpendicularly to the direction of pressure. The pressure is usually related to tectonic plate collisions.

Nonfoliated lack mineral grains with long axes in one direction.

– Nonfoliated rock minerals form with blocky crystal shapes.