Deck 1: Matter and Minerals

Question 1

Three of the following ARE true for minerals. Which one of the following is NOT true for minerals?

A)They have a specific, predictable chemical composition.
B)They have an orderly internal crystalline structure.
C)They can be identified by characteristic physical properties.
D)They can be a liquid, solid, or gas.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

How many cleavage directions does this mineral specimen display?

A)1
B)2
C)3
D)4

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What element is the most abundant in the Earth's crust by weight?

A)carbon
B)chlorine
C)oxygen
D)lead

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following best defines the relationship between minerals and rocks?

A)A rock has an orderly, repetitive, geometrical, internal arrangement of minerals; a mineral is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of rocks.
B)A mineral consists of atoms arranged in a geometrically repetitive structure; in a rock, the atoms are randomly bonded without any geometric pattern.
C)In a mineral, atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of mineral grains.
D)A rock consists of atoms bonded in a regular, geometrically predictable arrangement; a mineral is a consolidated aggregate of rock particles.

Question 5

The resistance of a mineral to scratching or abrasion is known as ________.

A)luster
B)cleavage
C)streak
D)hardness

Question 6

All of the atoms making up any given element have the same number of ________.

A)electrons in the nucleus
B)protons in the nucleus
C)neutrons in the outer nuclear shell
D)electrons in the outermost valence shell

Question 7

Which of the following minerals is a silicate (a mineral containing a silicon-bearing ion)?

A)hematite
B)feldspar
C)calcite
D)halite

Question 8

Which common mineral is composed entirely of silicon and oxygen?

A)calcite
B)diamond
C)olivine
D)quartz

Question 9

The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral is known as ________.

A)cleavage
B)luster
C)specific gravity
D)streak

Question 10

You are handed a sample of an unknown silicate mineral. Which two elements MUST it contain?

A)silicon and oxygen
B)iron and silicon
C)carbon and hydrogen
D)silicon and sodium

Question 11

The ion at the center of a silicon-oxygen tetrahedron is surrounded by ________.

A)4 oxygen ions
B)6 oxygen ions
C)4 sodium ions
D)6 sodium ions

Question 12

An atom's mass number is 13 and its atomic number is 6. How many neutrons are in its nucleus?

A)19
B)13
C)7
D)6

Question 13

Which one of the following mineral groups exhibits a sheet-like silicate structure?

A)carbonates
B)pyroxenes
C)micas
D)feldspars

Question 14

Due to the arrangement of weaker bonds in their crystal lattice, the tendency of certain minerals to break along smooth, parallel planes is known as ________.

A)streak
B)cleavage
C)luster
D)crystal habit

Question 15

Which the following are the positively charged particles in an atom's nucleus?

A)protons
B)neutrons
C)ions
D)electrons

Question 16

In a cooling magma composed of silicon, oxygen, aluminum, potassium, hydrogen, calcium, and sodium atoms, which of the following silicate minerals would be impossible to crystallize?

A)quartz
B)olivine
C)muscovite
D)potassium feldspar (orthoclase)

Question 17

When in contact with hydrochloric acid, which mineral gives off bubbles of carbon dioxide gas?

A)quartz
B)halite
C)calcite
D)fluorite

Question 18

Atoms that have an electrical charge due to a gain or loss of electrons are called ________.

A)ions
B)isotopes
C)isochrons
D)neutrons

Question 19

Which of the following is a silicate mineral with a single-chained structure?

A)olivine
B)pyroxene
C)amphibole
D)mica

Question 20

Imagine you are handed a mineral sample. It breaks with a conchoidal fracture, but displays no cleavage. It does not react with hydrochloric acid, is a light pink color, and has a nonmetallic luster. It is harder than a streak plate, and has a specific gravity of 2.65. What mineral is it?

A)olivine
B)potassium feldspar
C)calcite
D)quartz

Question 21

The micas, biotite and muscovite, both exhibit one direction of cleavage.

Question 22

A cubic centimeter each of quartz, olivine, and native gold weigh 2.5, 3.0, and 19.8 grams respectively. This indicates that ________.

A)gold has a higher density and specific gravity than quartz and olivine
B)olivine melts at a higher temperature than either gold or quartz
C)gold is 6 to 7 times harder than olivine and quartz
D)gold and olivine qualify as silicates, but quartz would not

Question 23

Which of the following properties would be least useful for identifying a sample of calcite?

A)reaction to hydrochloric acid
B)three planes of cleavage
C)white color
D)hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale

Question 24

Electrons are found in the nucleus of an atom.

Question 25

In silicate minerals, silicon-oxygen tetrahedra may be bonded together to form ________.

A)single chains
B)double chains
C)sheets
D)all of the above

Question 26

The physical property denoting a mineral's tendency to crack along parallel, planar surfaces is known as cleavage.

Question 27

Specific gravity is defined as mass per unit volume.

Question 28

All compounds are minerals.

Question 29

In the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron there are more silicon atoms than oxygen atoms.

Question 30

Diamond and quartz are both minerals composed of a single element.

Question 31

In Earth's crust, economic minerals are just as abundant as rock-forming minerals.

Question 32

The central region of an atom is the nucleus.

Question 33

Quartz, by definition, is a dark silicate mineral.

Question 34

Electrically neutral atoms have equal numbers of electrons and protons.

Question 35

Both of the samples pictured here are examples of the mineral pyrite. The physical property that sets them apart is ________.

A)reaction to hydrochloric acid
B)crystal habit
C)streak
D)specific gravity

Question 36

A mineral can be composed entirely of one element.

Question 37

The color of a powdered mineral is the physical property known as luster.

Question 38

The smallest particle of matter that exhibits and defines the distinctive chemical characteristics of an individual element is a neutron.

Question 39

Rocks are solids composed of one or more minerals.

Question 40

Which of the following has the highest specific gravity?

A)styrofoam
B)water
C)halite
D)gold

Question 41

Quartz has a specific gravity of about 2.65. A 5-gallon bucket of water weighs 40 pounds. How much would a 5-gallon volume of solid quartz weigh?

Question 42

What steps would you take in order to identify a mineral by its physical properties?

Question 43

Two feldspar samples are placed before you. Sample A is gray and shows striations on its surface, and Sample B is pink-colored, like fresh salmon. Sample A must be ________ and Sample B is likely to be ________.

Question 44

Which elements are most common in the Earth's crust? What sorts of minerals (i.e., specific families)result from these particularly common elements? What sorts of rocks are most common in the crust as a result?

Question 45

Common minerals that exhibit a single plane of cleavage are the micas. An example of a mica is ________.

Question 46

Synthetically made glass and natural quartz crystals both exhibit a fracture pattern termed ________.

Question 47

The most common group of minerals in Earth's crust are the ________.

Question 48

If a mineral has a specific gravity of 3, it must be ________ times as dense as water.

Question 49

Describe the characteristics a substance must possess in order to qualify as a mineral, and then describe which of the following cannot be minerals, listing a specific reason for each.
a. Gold nugget
b. Seawater
c. Quartz
d. Cubic zirconia
e. Obsidian
f. Ruby
g. Glacial ice
h. Amber

Question 50

Use the accompanying figure of the Mohs scale of hardness to answer this question. If you have a mineral sample that is capable of scratching a penny but is scratched by a wire nail, its hardness must be ________.

Question 51

Match the items in the first column with the correct descriptions in the second column.

A)a mineral consisting of a poisonous gas ionically bonded to an extremely reactive metal.
B)an item that is solid like a mineral, has definite chemical composition, and shows distinctive physical properties, but is not naturally occurring.
C)a silicate mineral which has silicon-oxygen tetrahedra bonded in single-chained formation along with iron or magnesium atoms.
D)a rock composed of nonmineral matter.
E)an item that is solid like a mineral, has definite chemical composition, and shows distinctive physical properties, but does not have an orderly crystalline structure.
F)a mineral in the carbonate family; showing three planes of cleavage and a fizzing reaction to hydrochloric acid.
G)a mineral made of oxidized hydrogen.
H)silicate mineral consisting solely of silicon and oxygen, with silicon-oxygen tetrahedra bonded in a complex three-dimensional network.
1)ice
2)dinner plate
3)quartz
4)glass
5)halite
6)coal
7)calcite
8)pyroxene

Question 52

Describe in detail the relationship between elements, minerals, and rocks. Give a specific example of a specific element that is included in a specific mineral that is included in a specific rock.

Question 53

Some minerals display the physical property known as "cleavage" because bonds in some orientations within the mineral crystal are ________ than bonds in other orientations.

Question 54

What is the octet rule? Describe how it explains the behavior of atoms in forming ionic and covalent bonds.

Question 55

To test whether a rock sample includes any of the mineral calcite, you should perform the ________ test.

Question 56

Label each of the five atoms in this silicon-oxygen tetrahedron.

Question 57

Compare and contrast the light silicate minerals and dark silicate minerals, and give examples of each.

Question 58

Atoms of different elements can "stick together" (making compounds)via electrons sharing or trading arrangements called ________.