Test your knowledge on minerals and rocks with this introductory quiz! Learn abo...

Introduction to Minerals and Rocks

• A mineral is a natural, inorganic solid with an orderly internal structure of atoms and a definite chemical composition.
• Minerals are not related to the vitamins and minerals needed for nutrition, which are organic compounds.
• Minerals are the basic building blocks of rocks.
• A rock is made up of minerals.
• To define a mineral, it must be natural, inorganic, solid, possess an orderly internal structure of atoms, and have a definite chemical composition.
• Synthetic diamonds and cubic zirconium do not qualify as minerals because they are not natural.
• Solids are defined as such at normal surface temperatures, but all matter can exist in any of the states of matter depending on temperature.
• All minerals have a crystal structure, meaning atoms fit together in an orderly arrangement.
• The chemical composition of a mineral is always the same, with no variation in the number or type of atoms.
• Graphite and diamond are both pure carbon, but their structure is different, making them different minerals.
• Rocks are made up of minerals and can vary in composition and structure.
• Understanding minerals and rocks is essential for studying large-scale geology, such as mountain ranges.

Structure of Atoms and Subatomic Particles

• Atoms are made up of three smaller particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons.
• Protons have a positive charge of +1, electrons have a negative charge of -1, and neutrons have no charge (neutral).
• The nucleus of an atom contains protons and neutrons, while electrons orbit around it.
• The discovery of protons and electrons was made through experimentation using a strong magnetic field to deflect the particles.
• The discovery of neutrons took longer as they have no charge and could not be deflected in a magnetic field.
• The subatomic particles beyond protons, neutrons, and electrons are determined in super colliders by bombarding atoms together and taking pictures of the collision point.
• Bohr's model of the atom suggested that electrons orbit around the nucleus in discrete orbitals, but this has been revised to describe electrons as existing in a cloud-like region.
• The formula used to calculate the forces of attraction and repulsion between subatomic particles is similar to the formula for gravity.
• The amount of electrical attraction between a proton and electron is directly proportional to their charge and inversely proportional to the distance between them.
• Neutrons act as a buffer between the positively charged protons in the nucleus to prevent them from repelling each other and causing the atom to explode.
• Atoms are electrically neutral, meaning they have an equal number of protons and electrons.
• The largest naturally occurring atom is uranium, which has 92 protons in its nucleus.

Introduction to Chemistry: Atoms, Mass, Isotopes, Valence Shell, and Ions

• The atomic number of an element represents the number of protons in an atom's nucleus.
• The mass number of an atom is the sum of the number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus.
• Isotopes are different varieties of an element with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.
• The average atomic mass of an element takes into account the abundance of each isotope and is slightly higher than the mass number of the most common isotope.
• The valence shell of an atom is the outermost shell of electrons that participate in chemical reactions.
• The octet rule is a generalization that every atom contains eight outermost electrons to make chemical reactions easier to depict.
• Ionic bonds are formed between charged ions (positive and negative) that are attracted to each other.
• Covalent bonds are formed when atoms share electrons to complete their octet.
• Metallic bonds are formed between metal atoms that share electrons in a "sea" of electrons.
• An ion is an atom that has gained or lost electrons, resulting in a net positive or negative charge.
• Positive ions are formed by losing electrons, while negative ions are formed by gaining electrons.
• Isotopes are varieties of an element with a different atomic mass caused by a different number of neutrons.