GSCI 1050 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Silicate Minerals, Metamorphic Rock, Igneous Rock
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Define the criteria that determines what is and is not a mineral: you may be tested on your memory of the criteria. One or more elements (different minerals have different chemical composition and/or atomic structures) Explain what differentiates one mineral from another: for example, graphite and diamond are both made up of only carbon, but have vastly different properties. They are both made up of carbon atoms and strong bonds however, graphite contains weak bonds which change its packing configurations. Packing configurations define geometric shape, which then define a. Different geometric shape of packing defines different crystal structures. Name 3 common minerals: quartz, halite, biotite, you may be tested on your memory about how to form minerals. Explain the primary ways in which minerals form. Crystallization from magma (cooling of melt -> most rocks in earth"s crust) Precipitation from solution (ex: seawater evaporates) - makes rock salt. Metamorphism (high heat and pressure) (ex: carbon -> diamond)
