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Rocks and Minerals
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Term | Definition |
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Cleavage | the breaking down of a molecule or compound into simpler structures. |
Crystal | a clear, transparent mineral or glass resembling ice. |
Fracture | the characteristic appearance of a broken surface, as of a mineral. |
Gem | a cut and polished precious stone or pearl fine enough for use in jewelry. |
Hardness | that quality in water that is imparted by the presence of dissolved salts, especially calcium sulfate or bicarbonate. |
Luster | the state or quality of shining by reflecting light; glitter, sparkle, sheen, or gloss: |
Magma | any crude mixture of finely divided mineral or organic matter. |
Mineral | a substance obtained by mining, as ore. |
Ore | a metal-bearing mineral or rock, or a native metal, that can be mined at a profit. |
Silicate | any salt derived from the silicic acids or from silica. |
Specific gravity | the ratio of the density of any substance to the density of some other substance taken as standard, water being the standard for liquids and solids, and hydrogen or air being the standard for gases. |
Streak | a portion or layer of something, distinguished by color or nature from the rest; a vein or stratum: |
Basaltic | the dark, dense igneous rock of a lava flow or minor intrusion, composed essentially of labradorite and pyroxene and often displaying a columnar structure. |
Cementation | the heating of two substances in contact in order to effect some change in one of them, especially, the formation of steel by heating iron in powdered charcoal. |
Compaction | the consolidation of sediments resulting from the weight of overlying deposits. |
Extrusive | tending to extrude. |
Foliated | consisting of thin and separable laminae. |
Igneous Rock | Rocks formed by the cooling and solidifying of molten materials. Igneous rocks can form beneath the Earth's surface, or at its surface, as lava. |
Intrusive | having been forced between preexisting rocks or rock layers while in a molten or plastic condition. |
Lava | the molten, fluid rock that issues from a volcano or volcanic vent. |
Metamorphic Rock | Rock that was once one form of rock but has changed to another under the influence of heat, pressure, or some other agent without passing through a liquid phase. |
Rock | mineral matter of variable composition, consolidated or unconsolidated, assembled in masses or considerable quantities in nature, as by the action of heat or water. |
Rock Cycle | a continuous process by which rocks are created, changed from one form to another, destroyed, and then formed again. |
Sediment | the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid; lees; dregs. |
Sedimentary Rock | Rock that has formed through the deposition and solidification of sediment, especially sediment transported by water (rivers, lakes, and oceans), ice (glaciers), and wind. Sedimentary rocks are often deposited in layers, and frequently contain fossils. |