TOPIC ONE: MINERALS

A. Label the following diagram:

B. The simplest substances on Earth are called elements. These are the building blocks of all
matter. Examples are hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and iron. There are about 106 elements
found on the Earth. Elements combine together chemically to form compounds.

Example: hydrogen + oxygen  water

element element compound

Example: silica + oxygen  silicon dioxide (quartz)

element element compound

Minerals are compounds or elements. They are the building blocks of rocks. Some minerals
contain a single element such as sulphur, gold or copper whereas others are made of
compounds (ex. quartz)

Minerals can exist alone (mica, quartz, feldspar) or can combine to form rocks (granite =
quartz + mica + feldspar)

Elements

+
minerals  rocks
Elements

Compounds

Although there are more than 3000 known minerals, less than a dozen are common to most
rocks.

See if you can match the following!

a. pencil lead _____ diamond, garnet, gold

b. silverware _____ copper bottoms
c. jewelry _____ graphite
d. sandpaper _____ garnet
e. computers electronic circuitry _____ gold
f. cookware _____ silver
C. Match the following terms with their proper definitions.

core compound crystals

cleavage color luster
geologist crust element
streak fracture transparency
translucent rock Moh’s Hardness Scale
opaque mineral mantle

____________________ 1. a scientist who studies the Earth’s crust.

____________________ 2. the thin outermost layer of the Earth.

____________________ 3. the middle layer of the Earth, located between the crust and the
core, made of rock.

____________________ 4. the innermost part of the Earth; made of iron and nickel in solid
and liquid form.

____________________ 5. a natural material composed of one or more minerals; there are

three main types: sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous.

____________________ 6. an inorganic naturally occurring solid material; they can be either

elements or compounds.

____________________ 7. a type of pure substance (made of one type of particle or atom)

that cannot be broken down into simpler parts by chemical means
and has a unique set of properties.

____________________ 8. two or more elements combined.

____________________ 9. the building blocks of minerals; they occur naturally and have
straight edges, flat sides and regular angles.

____________________ 10. in geology, a scale that compares the hardness of 10 minerals;

talc has a hardness value of 1 (softess) and diamond has a
hardness value of 10 (hardest)

____________________ 11. the “shininess” of a mineral – depends on how light is reflected

from its surface.

____________________ 12. one of the most obvious but least useful properties for identifying
minerals. Impurities can vary from sample to sample, so the color
may also vary. Ex. quartz can be in the form of amethyst (purple)
rose quartz (pink), citrine (yellow), and smoky quartz (black)

____________________ 13. the color of the powdered form of the mineral; a property useful
in identifying minerals.

_____________________ 14. when the mineral breaks apart and splits along smooth, flat planes.
Ex. mica
____________________ 15. the breaking of a mineral into jagged, rough pieces. Ex. quartz

____________________ 16. another property of a mineral; you can see through the mineral
clearly.

____________________ 17. property of a mineral; when you can barely see through the
mineral.

____________________ 18. a property of a mineral; when you cannot see through the mineral.