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Questions and Answers
What is the process by which halite, calcite, and gypsum form?
Crystallization when bodies of water on Earth's surface evaporate.
What is the factor that determines the size of crystals formed from magma or lava?
The rate at which the melted rock cools.
What type of minerals might a geologist expect to find near the site of an ancient lava flow?
Small crystals, such as pyroxene and fine-grained olivine.
What is the process by which diamonds form in the Earth's mantle?
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Why do diamonds only form in certain spots in the mantle?
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What type of crystals form when magma cools slowly underground?
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What is the result of fast cooling of lava on the surface or underwater?
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What is the process by which minerals form from magma or lava?
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What is the role of water in the formation of minerals such as halite, calcite, and gypsum?
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What is the importance of temperature in the formation of minerals from magma or lava?
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Study Notes
Minerals and Their Formation
- Minerals can form through organic processes, such as the production of skeletons made of calcium phosphate in animals like cows and humans.
- Minerals can also form through inorganic processes, which do not involve living things.
Minerals From Solutions
- Minerals can form from solutions when elements and compounds dissolve in water and then precipitate out, allowing crystallization to occur.
- Energy from the sun can cause water to evaporate, leaving behind minerals.
- Water under intense pressure and high temperatures can pick up elements and compounds from surrounding rock, and then deposit them through precipitation, allowing crystallization to occur.
Crystal Structure
- The particles of a mineral line up in a pattern that repeats over and over again, forming a crystal.
- The repeating pattern of a mineral's particles forms a solid called a crystal.
Definite Chemical Composition
- A mineral has a definite chemical composition, meaning it always contains the same elements in certain proportions.
- For example, gypsum always contains calcium, oxygen, sulfur, and hydrogen in set proportions.
Mineral Properties
- Geologists have identified and named over 5,000 minerals, but only about 20 make up most of the rocks of Earth's crust.
- Each mineral has characteristic properties that are used to identify and describe it.
Minerals From Magma and Lava
- Minerals can form when hot magma from Earth's interior cools higher up in the crust, or as lava cools and hardens on the surface.
- The size of the crystals depends on the rate at which the melted rock cools, with slow cooling leading to large crystals and fast cooling leading to small crystals.
Rare Minerals
- Diamonds form in certain spots in the mantle due to immense pressure and heat, which compacts graphite into diamond.
- A geologist might expect to find minerals like quartz, feldspar, pyroxene, and olivine near the site of an ancient lava flow.
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Description
Discover how minerals are formed through both geological and organic processes, including the role of living organisms like animals and humans.
