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Minerals and Rocks Vocabulary

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Term
Definition
texture   the look and feel of a rock's surface, determined by the size, shape and pattern of a rock's grains.  
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igneous rock   a type of rock that forms from the cooling of molten rock at or below the surface.  
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grain   a particle of mineral or other rock that fives a rock its texture.  
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sedimentary rock   a type of rock that forms when particles from other rocks or the remains of plants and animals are pressed and cemented together.  
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metamorphic rock   a type of rock that forms from an existing rock that is changed by heat, pressure or chemical reactions.  
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extrusive rock   igneous rock that forms from lava on Earth's surface.  
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intrusive rock   igneous rock that forms when magma hardens beneath Earth's surface  
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porphyritic texture   an igneous rock texture in which large crystals are scattered on a background of much smaller crystals  
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sediment   small, solid pieces of material that comes from rocks or organisms.  
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erosion   the destructive process in which water or wind loosen and carry away fragments of rock.  
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deposition   the process by which sediments settles out of water or wind that is carrying it.  
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compaction   the process by which sediments are pressed together under their own weight.  
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cementation   the process by which dissolved minerals crystallize and glue particles of sediment together into one mass  
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clastic rock   sedimentary rock that forms when rock fragments are squeezed together under high pressure  
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element   a substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by ordinary chemical or physical means.  
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chemical rock   sedimentary rock that forms when minerals crystallize from a solution  
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atomic number   the number of protons in the nucleus of an atom  
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energy level   one of several distinct regions around the nucleus of an atom where electrons are located.  
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isotope   an atom with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons for a given element  
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mass number   the number of neutrons  
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foliated   term used to describe metamorphic rocks whose grains are arranged in parallel layers or bands.  
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rock cycle   a series of processes on the surface and inside Earth that slowly change rocks from one kind to another  
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mass number   the number of neutrons and protons in the nucleus of an atom  
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compound   a substance formed by the chemical combination of two or more elements in definite proportions and usually having properties different from those of its consituent elements  
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Chemical bond   a force that holds together atoms that form a compound.  
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ion   an atom or a molecule that possesses an electrical charge.  
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ionic bond   a bond that forms between negative and positive ions.  
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covalent bond   a bond that forms when atoms share electrons.  
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metallic bond   a bond that forms when electrons are shared by metal ions.  
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mineral   a naturally occuring, inorganic crystalline material with a unique chemical composition.  
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silicate   any one of numerous minerals that have the oxygen and silicon tetrahedron as their basic structure.  
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silicon-oxygen tetrahedron   a structure composed of four oxygen atoms surrounding a silicon atom, which constitutes the basic building block of silicate minerals.  
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streak   the color of a mineral in powdered form  
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luster   The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral.  
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crystal form   the external appearance of a mineral as determined by its internal arrangement of atoms.  
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hardness   the resistance a mineral offers to scratching  
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cleavage   the tendency of a mineral to break along planes of weak bonding  
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Mohs Scale   a series of 10 minerals used as a standard in determining hardness.  
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fracture   any break or rupture in rock along which no appreciable movement has taken place.  
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density   mass per unit volume of a substance, usually expressed as grams per cubic centimeter  
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rock   a consolidated mixture of minerals  
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magma   a body of molten rock found at depth, including any dissolved gases and crystals  
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lava   magma that reaches Earth's surface  
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weathering   the disintegration and decomposition of rock at or near Earth's surface.  
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granitic composition   a compositional group of igneous rocks that indicate a rock is composed almost entirely of light-colored silicates, mainly quartz and feldspar.  
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basaltic composition   a compositional group of igneous rocks indicating that the rock contains substantial dark silicate mainerals and calcium rich plagioclase feldspar.  
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andesitic composition   the composition of igneous rocks lying between felsic and mafic  
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ultramafic   igneous rock composed mainly of iron and magnesium-rich minerals  
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metamorphism   the changes in mineral composition and texture of a rock subjected to high temperature and pressure within Earth  
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hydrothermal solutions   hot, water-based solutions that escape from a mass of magma during the later stages of crystallization - these solutions may alter the surrounding rock  
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contact metamorphism   changes in rock caused by the heat from a nearby magma body  
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regional metamorphism   metamorphism associated with large-scale mountain-building processes  
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nonfoliated   metamorphic rock that does not exhibit a banded or layered appearance  
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