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Minerals
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Mineral | naturally occurring, inorganic, solid, crystal structure, and definite chemical composition |
inorganic | not formed from living things or the remains of living things |
organic | made from living things or remains of living things |
crystal | shape made when atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats |
definite chemical composition | the mineral "recipe", what a mineral is made of will not change no matter where it is found or how big or small it is |
Luster | describes the way a mineral reflects light off its surface (metallic, nonmetallic, glassy, dull, etc) |
Mohs hardness scale | scale ranking minerals from softest to hardest |
softest mineral | talc (1) |
hardest mineral | diamond (10) |
streak | color of a mineral's power (may not be same color as mineral, could be clear) |
cleavage | describes when a mineral breaks along even lines |
frature | describes when a mineral breaks into uneven pieces or in an irregular way |