Matter & Minerals Quiz

Which of the following best defines the relationship between minerals and rocks?

• A rock has an orderly, repetitive, geometrical, internal arrangement of minerals; a mineral is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of rocks.

• A mineral consists of atoms arranged in a geometrically repetitive structure; in a rock, the atoms are randomly bonded without any geometric pattern.

• In a mineral, atoms are bonded in a regular, repetitive, internal structure; a rock is a lithified or consolidated aggregate of mineral grains.

All of the atoms making up any given element have the same number of ________.

• electrons in the nucleus

• protons in the nucleus

• neutrons in the outer nuclear shell

• electrons in the outermost valence shell

Atoms that have an electrical charge due to a gain or loss of electrons are called ________.

• ions

• isotopes

• isochrons

• neutrons

When in contact with hydrochloric acid, which mineral gives off bubbles of carbon dioxide gas?

• quartz

• halite

• calcite

• fluorite

The appearance or quality of light reflected from the surface of a mineral is known as ________.

• cleavage

• luster

• specific gravity

• streak

Which common mineral is composed entirely of silicon and oxygen?

• calcite

• diamond

• olivine

• quartz

Which of the following silicate minerals is the most abundant in Earth's crust?

• pyroxene

• olivine

• garnet

• feldspars

Which of the following minerals is a silicate (a mineral containing a silicon-bearing ion)?

• hematite

• feldspar

• calcite

• halite

Which one of the following mineral groups exhibits a sheet-like silicate structure?

• carbonates

• pyroxenes

• micas

• feldspars

The ion at the center of a silicon–oxygen tetrahedron is surrounded by ________.