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6th Grade Chapter 3
Minerals
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Mineral | a naturally occurring, inorganic solid that has a crystal structure and a definite chemical composition |
| Inorganic | not formed from living things or the remains of living things |
| Crystal | a solid in which the atoms are arranged in a pattern that repeats again and again |
| Streak | the color of a mineral's powder |
| Luster | the way a mineral reflects light from its surface |
| Cleavage | a mineral's ability to split easily along flat surfaces |
| Fracture | the way a mieral looks when it breaks apart in an irregular way |
| Geode | a hollow rock inside which mineral crystals have formed |
| Vein | a narrow deposit of a mineral that is sharply different from the surrounding rock |
| Gemstone | a hard, colorful mineral that has a brilliant or glasssy luster and is valued for its appearance |
| Ore | a rock that contains a metal or economically useful mineral |
| Smelting | the process by which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements |
| Alloy | a solid mixture of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal |
| Crystallization | the process by which atoms are arranged to form a material within a crystal structure |
| Magma | lava at the earth's surface |
| Solution | a mixture in which one substance dissolves in another |
| Gem | a gemstone that has been cut and polished |
| Prospector | anyone who searches for an ore deposit |