Rocks and Minerals Vocabulary

minerals

found in nature- is not a plant or animal

rocks

found in nature, not living, made from minerals

attributes

characteristics that describe minerals

texture

how something feels

luster

how shiny a material is

Moh's Scale

a scale that rates the hardness of materials

streak

mark left on something from a material

igneous rock

a type of rock that is formed when melted rock cools

sedimentary rock

a type of rock formed when sand and mud at the bottom of rivers, lakes and the oceans pile up

metamorphic rock

the type of rock that has changeed through heating and squeezing

Words to use for luster:

dull, waxy, oily, pearly, silky, glassy, resinous, metalic

Words to use for crystal shape:

acicular, blebs, botryoidal, concretion, dendritic, dog-tooth, fibrous, octahedral, massive, tabular

Words to use for cleavage:

perfect on 1/2/3 ways, no cleavage

Words to use for transparency:

transparent (clear, see through when sliced thin) /// translucent (see shapes and shadows when is sliced) /// opaque (can't see through it at all when is sliced thin)