Chapter 3 Practice Test
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. Which of the following is NOT true of metallic minerals?
a. They have shiny surfaces.
b. They do not conduct heat well.
c. They do not let light pass through them.
d. They can be processed into metals that do not rust.
____
2. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a mineral?
a. It is formed in nature.
c. It has a crystalline structure.
b. It is a living material.
d. It is a solid.
____
3. What are the two major groups of minerals?
a. metallic and nonmetallic
b. native elements and carbonates
c. silicates and nonsilicates
d. quartz and mica
4. A silicate mineral must contain
a. silicon and oxygen.
b. oxygen and carbon.
c. carbon and hydrogen.
d. silicon and carbon.
5. Nonsilicate minerals
a. do not contain oxygen.
b. include native elements.
c. all have a nonmetallic luster.
d. are all rare substances.
____
____
____
6. In addition to reclamation, a good way to reduce the environmental effects of mining is to
a. recycle mineral products.
c. use more metals.
b. dig deeper mines.
d. flush mines with water.
____
7. The color of the powder that a mineral leaves on a piece of white, unglazed porcelain is called the mineral’s
a. color.
c. streak.
b. luster.
d. scratch.
____
8. Which of the following is NOT true of minerals?
a. They are liquids.
c. They are inorganic.
b. They are formed in nature.
d. They have a crystalline structure.
____
9. Which of the following is NOT a class of nonsilicate minerals?
a. oxides
c. carbonates
b. micas
d. native elements
____ 10. Halides form when flourine, chlorine, iodine, or bromine combine with any of the following elements
EXCEPT
a. sodium.
c. calcium.
b. potassium.
d. oxygen.
____ 11. What is a mineral deposit that is large and pure enough to be mined called?
a. gemstone
c. pluton
b. ore
d. pegnatite
____ 12. What kinds of mines are open pit and quarry mines?
a. shaft mines
b. slope mines
c. surface mines
d. subsurface mines
____ 13. What is the name for nonmetallic minerals that are values for their beauty and rarity rather than their
usefulness?
a. plutons
c. ores
b. gemstones
d. pegmatites
____ 14. Halides and oxides are classes of
a. silicate materials.
b. native elements.
c. micas.
d. nonsilicate minerals.
____ 15. The potentially harmful effects of mining can be reduced by
a. reclamation of the land.
c. using more metals.
b. strip mining.
d. flushing mines with water.
____ 16. Which mineral is the most resistant to scratching?
a. fluorite
c. diamond
b. talc
d. gypsum
____ 17. Which of the following is NOT a type of luster?
a. nonmetallic
c. supermetallic
b. submetallic
d. metallic
____ 18. What occurs when minerals break unevenly along curved or irregular surfaces?
a. luster
c. cleavage
b. fracture
d. streak
____ 19. What is the softest mineral on the Mohs scale?
a. diamond
c. topaz
b. gypsum
d. talc
____ 20. What is the color of a mineral in powdered form called?
a. gas
c. streak
b. fracture
d. liquid
Completion
Complete each sentence or statement.
21. A mineral’s streak can be found by rubbing the mineral against a ____________________.
22. Carat is the unit for the ____________________ of a gemstone.
23. Luster, color, streak, cleavage, hardness, and density are all ____________________ of minerals.
24. The measure of how much matter is in a given space is called ____________________.
25. The most common classification of minerals is based on ____________________ composition.
26. When changes in pressure, temperature, or chemical makeup alter a rock, ____________________ takes
place and minerals can form.
Use the terms from the following list to complete the sentences below.
fracture
cleavage
element
density
ore
compound
mineral
silicate
27. The tendency of some minerals to break along smooth, flat surfaces is ____________________.
28. A natural material deposit that is large enough and pure enough to be mined for profit is a(n)
____________________.
Use the terms from the following list to complete the sentences below.
silicate minerals
fluorescence
density
metallic minerals
reclamation
surface mines
29. The special property that causes some minerals to glow is ____________________.
30. Returning the land to the way it was before mining is called ____________________.
Matching
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a. silicate mineral
d. compound
b. crystal
e. nonsilicate mineral
c. element
f. mineral
____
____
____
____
____
____
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
a solid whose atoms, ions, or molecules are arranged in a definite pattern
a mineral that does not contain compounds of silicon and oxygen
a mineral that contains a combination of silicon, oxygen, and other elements
a substance that cannot be separated or broken down into simpler substances by chemical means
a naturally formed, inorganic solid that has a definite crystalline structure
a substance made up of atoms of two or more different elements joined by chemical bonds
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a. density
e.
b. cleavage
f.
c. hardness
g.
d. streak
h.
____
____
____
____
____
____
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
fracture
luster
color
special properties
the appearance of a mineral that can vary according to the impurities in that mineral as well as other factors
the splitting of a mineral along smooth, flat surfaces
the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of the substance
a measure of the ability of a mineral to resist scratching
characteristics that are particular to only a few types of minerals
the color of the powder of a mineral
____ 43. the way in which a mineral reflects light
____ 44. the breaking of a mineral along either curved or irregular surfaces
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a. metamorphic rocks
d. pluton
b. evaporating salt water
e. hot-water solutions
c. limestones
f. pegmatites
____ 45. teardrop-shaped bodies with large crystals, such as gem stones, that form when magma moves upward
____ 46. environment in which groundwater works its way downward and is heated by magma and then reacts with
minerals
____ 47. rocks formed when surface and groundwater carry dissolved materials into lakes and seas where they
crystallize
____ 48. environment in which bodies of salt water dry up
____ 49. magma body that moves upward and cools before it reaches the surface, forming crystals; can form mica,
feldspar, magnetite, and quartz
____ 50. where minerals form when rocks are altered by changes in pressure, temperature, or chemical makeup
Chapter 3 Practice Test
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
B
B
C
A
B
A
C
A
B
D
B
C
B
D
A
C
C
B
D
C
COMPLETION
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
streak plate
mass
properties
density
chemical
metamorphism
cleavage
ore
flourscence
reclamation
MATCHING
31.
32.
33.
34.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
B
E
A
C
35. ANS: F
36. ANS: D
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
G
B
A
C
H
D
F
E
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
ANS:
F
E
C
B
D
A