Name______________________________________ Geologists Notebook: What Exactly Are Minerals? 1. What do diamonds, salt, gold and rocks have in common?

2. Minerals are used in making houses, _____________, computers and paints. We even ___________ them! 3. Minerals are naturally formed, ______________________, solid chemical substances. 4. Minerals are in the rocks of the earths ________________________. 5. We find concentrations, or ________________________, of certain minerals here and others there, because the minerals in magma were not thoroughly _____________________________. 6. More often than not, the mineral we want is aggregate, or collected _____________________________, with others in rock. 7. Geologists try to figure out what they have by testing physical ____________________________ and other features. 8. Geologists can compare any minerals _________________________ to Mohs scale, from the the softest, __________________, to the hardest, _____________________. 9. Another physical property, _________________________, refers to the way a mineral reflects light. 10. _____________________________ is determined by how heavy a mineral is. 11. Minerals may be tested for m_______________________________, the color of s___________________ they leave on a rough surface, or even the way they break apart, or c________________________. 12. Rocks are made up of minerals. Minerals are made up of _________________________, which cannot be divided into other substances. 13. When elements join _____________________________, they produce something that seems quite different from the parts. 14. For example, the element chlorine by itself is poisonous, but when combined with sodium, it becomes everyday ______________ _______________. These elements combine and grow in an orderly fashion, or in a repeating pattern, to form a ___________________.

Name______________________________________ Geologists Notebook

1. What do diamonds, salt, gold and rocks have in common? THEY ARE MADE OF MINERALS. 2. Minerals are used in making houses, _ROADS_________, computers and paints. We even _EAT__________ them! 3. Minerals are naturally formed, _NON-LIVING_____________, solid chemical substances. 4. Minerals are in the rocks of the earths ____CRUST____________________. 5. We find concentrations, or ___DEPOSITS_____________________, of certain minerals here and others there, because the minerals in magma were not thoroughly ___MIXED______________________. 6. More often than not, the mineral we want is aggregate, or collected ___TOGETHER_____________________, with others in rock. 7. Geologists try to figure out what they have by testing physical ____PROPERTIES___________________ and other features. 8. Geologists can compare any minerals ___HARDNESS_________________ to Mohs scale, from the the softest, __TALC______________, to the hardest, ___DIAMOND_______________. 9. Another physical property, ___LUSTER______________________, refers to the way a mineral reflects light. 10. ___DENSITY__________________________ is determined by how heavy a mineral is. 11. Minerals may be tested for ____MAGNETISM___________________________, the color of ____STREAK_______________ they leave on a rough surface, or even the way they break apart, or ____CLEAVE____________________. 12. Rocks are made up of minerals. Minerals are made up of ___ELEMENTS______________________, which cannot be divided into other substances. 13. When elements join ___CHEMICALLY__________________, they produce something that seems quite different from the parts. 14. For example, the element chlorine by itself is poisonous, but when combined with sodium, it becomes everyday __TABLE____________ ___SALT____________. These elements combine and grow in an orderly fashion, or in a repeating pattern, to form a _CUBE__________________.