Problem 1
What properties distinguish minerals from other substances?
Problem 2
Explain why oil and coal are not minerals.
Problem 4
What is an atom? An ion? A cation? An anion? What roles do they play in minerals?
Problem 5
What is a chemical bond? What role do chemical bonds play in minerals?
Problem 7
What are the factors that control the shape of a well-formed crystal?
Problem 8
What is a crystal face?
Problem 10
List and explain minerals" physical properties that are most useful for identification.
Problem 12
Why is color often an unreliable property for mineral identification?
Problem 13
List the rock-forming minerals. Why are they called rock-forming? Which are silicates? Why are so many of them silicates?
Problem 14
Draw a three-dimensional view of a single silicate tetrahedron. Draw the five arrangements of tetrahedra found in the rock-forming silicate minerals. How many oxygen ions are shared between adjacent tetrahedra in each of the five configurations?
