Minerals and Their Properties Quiz

Study Notes

Mineral: Naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition.
Luster: The way light reflects off a mineral's surface, indicating its shine or sheen.
Hardness: A measure of a mineral's resistance to scratching, commonly determined using the Mohs scale.
Cleavage: The tendency of a mineral to break along flat surfaces, resulting in smooth, planar surfaces.
Fracture: Irregular breaking of a mineral that does not follow smooth surfaces.
Streak: The color of a mineral's powder when it is scraped across a surface, typically a ceramic tile.
Magnetism: The ability of a mineral to be attracted to a magnet, indicating the presence of iron or similar elements.
Density: The mass of a mineral per unit volume, calculated using the formula density = mass/volume.
Crystallization: The process through which atoms are arranged to form a material with a crystal structure.
Gem: A hard, colored mineral with a brilliant or glassy luster, often cut and polished for decoration.
Metal: A material that is typically hard, shiny, and conductive of electricity and heat.
Ore: A type of rock that contains a metal or other useful minerals that can be economically extracted.

Five characteristics of minerals include being inorganic, solid, having a definite chemical composition, being naturally occurring, and having a crystalline structure.
Not all minerals are formed from materials that were once part of living organisms; this statement is false.
Hardness is measured using the Mohs scale, which ranks minerals based on their ability to scratch one another.
The property of minerals that describes light reflection from a mineral's surface is luster.
Cleavage can be differentiated from fracture based on the regularity of surface breaks; cleavage shows flat surfaces while fracture does not.

A geode is a rounded, hollow rock lined with mineral crystals.
Crystallization occurs when atoms arrange into a structured format within materials.
When elements and compounds dissolve in water and are precipitated out, the process is known as crystallization.
A mineral that is cut and polished, known for its hardness and color, qualifies as a gemstone.
An ore is rock containing valuable minerals or metals that can be mined profitably.

Mineral: Naturally occurring inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition.
Luster: The way light reflects off a mineral's surface, indicating its shine or sheen.
Hardness: A measure of a mineral's resistance to scratching, commonly determined using the Mohs scale.
Cleavage: The tendency of a mineral to break along flat surfaces, resulting in smooth, planar surfaces.
Fracture: Irregular breaking of a mineral that does not follow smooth surfaces.
Streak: The color of a mineral's powder when it is scraped across a surface, typically a ceramic tile.
Magnetism: The ability of a mineral to be attracted to a magnet, indicating the presence of iron or similar elements.
Density: The mass of a mineral per unit volume, calculated using the formula density = mass/volume.
Crystallization: The process through which atoms are arranged to form a material with a crystal structure.
Gem: A hard, colored mineral with a brilliant or glassy luster, often cut and polished for decoration.
Metal: A material that is typically hard, shiny, and conductive of electricity and heat.
Ore: A type of rock that contains a metal or other useful minerals that can be economically extracted.

Five characteristics of minerals include being inorganic, solid, having a definite chemical composition, being naturally occurring, and having a crystalline structure.
Not all minerals are formed from materials that were once part of living organisms; this statement is false.
Hardness is measured using the Mohs scale, which ranks minerals based on their ability to scratch one another.
The property of minerals that describes light reflection from a mineral's surface is luster.
Cleavage can be differentiated from fracture based on the regularity of surface breaks; cleavage shows flat surfaces while fracture does not.

A geode is a rounded, hollow rock lined with mineral crystals.
Crystallization occurs when atoms arrange into a structured format within materials.
When elements and compounds dissolve in water and are precipitated out, the process is known as crystallization.
A mineral that is cut and polished, known for its hardness and color, qualifies as a gemstone.
An ore is rock containing valuable minerals or metals that can be mined profitably.