CHAPTER 2: MINERALS
1. What are the defining characteristics of a mineral?
A. Man-made, flexible, liquid, ordered atoms
B. Natural, organic, liquid, definite structure
C. Natural, inorganic, solid, orderly internal structure
D. Synthetic, inorganic, gas, random atoms
2. What is a mineraloid?
A. A substance with a definite chemical composition and ordered structure
B. A mineral that forms from living organisms
C. A solid that lacks an orderly internal atomic structure
D. A gaseous version of a mineral
3. What are elements in relation to minerals?
A. Synthetic materials used in lab-made minerals
B. Basic building blocks of minerals
C. Compounds formed by bonding minerals
D. Gases found in mineral cavities
4. What is an atom?
A. A molecule made from two or more elements
B. The largest particle of an element
C. The smallest particle of matter with all characteristics of an element
D. A negatively charged particle orbiting the nucleus
5. What particles are found in the nucleus of an atom?
A. Electrons and neutrons
B. Protons and neutrons
C. Protons and electrons
D. Ions and isotopes
6. What charge does a proton carry?
A. Negative
B. Neutral
C. Positive
D. No charge
7. What charge does a neutron carry?
A. Positive
B. Negative
C. Neutral
D. Variable
8. What surrounds the nucleus of an atom?
A. Ions
B. Shells or energy levels
C. Nuclei
D. Molecules
9. What particles are found in the energy levels around the nucleus?
A. Protons
B. Neutrons
C. Electrons
D. Isotopes
10. What charge does an electron carry?
A. Positive
B. Neutral
C. Negative
D. No charge
11. What is the atomic number of an element?
A. The number of electrons
B. The number of isotopes
C. The number of protons in the nucleus
D. The total number of protons and neutrons
12. What forms when atoms bond together?
A. Electrons
B. Compounds
C. Elements
D. Isotopes
13. What is an ion?
A. A molecule with extra protons
B. An atom that has gained or lost electrons
C. A group of bonded neutrons
D. A nucleus without electrons
14. What results when an atom gains or loses electrons?
A. An isotope
B. An ion
C. A compound
D. A mineral
15. What are isotopes of an element?
A. Atoms with different electron numbers
B. Atoms with identical mass
C. Atoms with varying number of neutrons
D. Atoms with extra protons
16. What is different between isotopes of the same element?
A. Proton number
B. Neutron number
C. Electron charge
D. Atomic number
17. What is the mass number of an isotope?
A. Number of electrons
B. Number of protons
C. Sum of protons and neutrons
D. Atomic weight
18. What is true about many isotopes?
A. They are inert
B. They form acids
C. They are radioactive
D. They are synthetic
19. What is the luster of pyrite?
A. Glassy
B. Pearly
C. Metallic
D. Silky
20. What does the Mohs scale measure?
A. Color
B. Hardness
C. Density
D. Cleavage
21. What is crystal form in minerals?
A. The ability to fracture under pressure
B. The external expression of a mineral’s internal structure
C. A measure of mineral's density
D. The softness of a mineral’s surface
22. What is luster in a mineral?
A. The ability to reflect sound
B. The quality of light reflected from the surface
C. The mineral’s chemical reactivity
D. The density of the mineral
23. What does streak refer to in mineral identification?
A. The ability to form layers
B. The color of a mineral’s powdered form
C. The outer surface color of the mineral
D. The amount of light a mineral reflects
24. What is the term for a mineral’s resistance to being scratched?
A. Luster
B. Streak
C. Cleavage
D. Hardness
25. What is cleavage in minerals?
A. The irregular breaking of a mineral
B. The ability to attract magnets
C. The tendency to break along planes of weak bonding
D. The color of a powdered mineral
26. What is fracture in minerals?
A. The tendency to form smooth, flat surfaces
B. The random breaking of a mineral in an uneven way
C. A mineral's ability to scratch glass
D. The breaking of a mineral along parallel planes
27. What does specific gravity measure in a mineral?
A. The color change under light
B. The weight compared to an equal volume of water
C. The weight compared to air
D. The reaction with acid
28. What mineral displays conchoidal fracture?
A. Calcite
B. Quartz
C. Halite
D. Gypsum
29. What is one unusual property used in mineral identification?
A. Transparency
B. Reaction with hydrochloric acid
C. Magnetism
D. Radioactivity
30. What is the feel of a mineral used to describe?
A. Hardness
B. Color
C. Texture (e.g., greasy, soapy)
D. Streak
31. What mineral property is tested by checking elasticity?
A. The ability to bounce when dropped
B. The ability to stretch
C. The ability to bend and return to original shape
D. The softness of the mineral
32. What is malleability in mineral terms?
A. The ability to be magnetized
B. The ability to shatter
C. The ability to deform under stress without breaking
D. The ability to change color
33. What property is double refraction associated with?
A. Luster
B. Smell
C. Light bending into two rays
D. Sound vibration
34. What is the reaction of calcite with hydrochloric acid?
A. No visible change
B. Turns red
C. Bubbles or effervesces
D. Becomes magnetic
35. What elements are most abundant in rock-forming minerals?
A. Gold and Silver
B. Oxygen and Silicon
C. Hydrogen and Carbon
D. Sodium and Potassium
36. What are rock-forming minerals?
A. Rare gems used in jewelry
B. A few dozen minerals that form most rocks
C. Artificially made minerals
D. Volcanic glasses
37. What percentage of Earth's crust is oxygen by weight?
A. 22.3%
B. 46.6%
C. 54.2%
D. 36.4%
38. What percentage of Earth’s crust is silicon by weight?
A. 14.8%
B. 22.1%
C. 27.7%
D. 38.9%
39. What is the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron?
A. A gas particle in the atmosphere
B. A group of six bonded atoms
C. Four oxygen atoms bonded to one silicon atom
D. Three silicon atoms bonded in a ring
40. What shape does the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron resemble?
A. Cube
B. Sphere
C. Pyramid
D. Cylinder
41. What is the most common group of minerals?
A. Oxides
B. Carbonates
C. Silicates
D. Halides
42. What is olivine’s tetrahedral arrangement?
A. Sheet-like
B. Independent
C. Double chain
D. Network
43. What type of tetrahedral structure does pyroxene have?
A. Sheets
B. 3D Network
C. Single chains
D. Rings
44. What is the tetrahedral arrangement in amphibole?
A. Double chains
B. Independent groups
C. Networks
D. Cubic shapes
45. What type of silicate is hornblende a member of?
A. Feldspar
B. Amphibole
C. Olivine
D. Pyroxene
46. What type of structure do mica minerals have?
A. Chains
B. Sheets
C. Cubes
D. Networks
47. What is the light-colored mica mineral?
A. Biotite
B. Quartz
C. Muscovite
D. Amphibole
48. What is the dark-colored mica mineral?
A. Muscovite
B. Biotite
C. Quartz
D. Hornblende
49. What mineral group has a three-dimensional tetrahedral network?
A. Olivine
B. Pyroxene
C. Feldspar
D. Mica
50. What are the two main types of feldspar?
A. Muscovite and Biotite
B. Halite and Gypsum
C. Orthoclase and Plagioclase
D. Amphibole and Pyroxene
51. What is quartz composed of?
A. Chains of silicon-oxygen
B. Sheets of carbon
C. 3D silicon-oxygen network
D. Isolated iron-oxide groups
52. What is the most plentiful mineral group?
A. Oxides
B. Carbonates
C. Feldspars
D. Halides
53. What do feldspars crystallize from?
A. Water
B. Sediments
C. Molten material
D. Atmospheric gases
54. What are nonsilicate minerals?
A. Minerals that form only from gases
B. Minerals that do not contain silicon-oxygen tetrahedra
C. Minerals made of only carbon
D. Minerals that are artificially created
55. What are examples of nonsilicate minerals?
A. Olivine and pyroxene
B. Muscovite and quartz
C. Oxides and sulfides
D. Feldspar and amphibole
56. What is an example of a sulfate mineral?
A. Calcite
B. Magnetite
C. Gypsum
D. Feldspar
57. What are carbonates composed of?
A. Silicates
B. Sulfides
C. Compounds with carbonate ions
D. Only oxygen and magnesium
58. What rocks contain carbonate minerals?
A. Limestone and marble
B. Sandstone and shale
C. Obsidian and granite
D. Basalt and gabbro
59. Where are halite and gypsum commonly found?
A. Metamorphic rocks
B. Igneous rocks
C. Sedimentary rocks
D. Magma chambers
60. What is one important feature of many nonsilicate minerals?
A. They have economic value
B. They are radioactive
C. They are colorless
D. They only form underwater
61. What are native elements?
A. Artificially synthesized minerals
B. Pure elements found in nature
C. Minerals with radioactive properties
D. Gas-forming compounds
62. What is native copper an example of?
A. Silicate mineral
B. Native element
C. Sulfate mineral
D. Oxide
63. What are mineral reserves?
A. Undiscovered minerals
B. Identified deposits that can be extracted
C. Minerals under the ocean
D. Artificial minerals
64. What are ores?
A. Nonmetallic rocks
B. Useful metallic minerals mined for profit
C. Waste rocks
D. Decorative stones
65. What influences whether a resource is considered economically viable?
A. Temperature
B. pH levels
C. Economic factors
D. Size of crystals
66. What is the purpose of the Mohs scale?
A. To classify chemical composition
B. To rank crystal sizes
C. To determine hardness
D. To calculate density
67. What type of cleavage does halite have?
A. No cleavage
B. Uneven
C. Perfect cubic cleavage
D. Splintery
68. What property of minerals is often tested using smell?
A. Streak
B. Magnetism
C. Other properties
D. Specific gravity
69. What determines a mineral's color?
A. Streak only
B. Chemical composition and impurities
C. Only its luster
D. Cleavage planes
70. What is a common feature of most rock-forming silicates?
A. Carbon content
B. Radioactivity
C. Silicon-oxygen tetrahedra
D. Magnetic behavior
71. What distinguishes muscovite from biotite?
A. Size
B. Luster
C. Color
D. Hardness
72. What property makes quartz identifiable?
A. Its softness
B. Its conchoidal fracture
C. Its elasticity
D. Its magnetism
73. What mineral reacts vigorously with acid?
A. Halite
B. Quartz
C. Calcite
D. Feldspar
74. What mineral group is gypsum in?
A. Silicates
B. Carbonates
C. Sulfates
D. Native elements
75. What mineral is used as table salt?
A. Gypsum
B. Halite
C. Calcite
D. Quartz
76. What mineral has a salty taste?
A. Quartz
B. Halite
C. Calcite
D. Olivine
77. What characteristic is shared by all minerals?
A. Organic origin
B. Liquid at room temperature
C. Solid with definite composition
D. Carbon base
78. What property of minerals is related to their economic use?
A. Magnetism
B. Cleavage
C. Resource value
D. Streak
79. What type of mineral is magnetite?
A. Silicate
B. Oxide
C. Sulfide
D. Halide
80. What determines a mineral’s classification?
A. Its streak color
B. Its reactivity
C. Its chemical composition and internal structure
D. Its origin location
1–5 :C C B C B
6–10 :C C B C C
11–15 : C B B B C
16–20 : B C C C B
21–25 : B B B D C
26–30 : B B B B C
31–35 : C C C C B
36–40 : B B C C C
41–45 : C B C A B
46–50 : B C C B C
51–55 : C C C B C
56–60 : C C A C A
61–65 : B B B B C
66–70 : C C C B C
71–75 : C B C C B
76–80 : B B C C B