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*a “mineral” is a ‘naturally-occurring chemical compound’, usually of ‘crystalline form’ + ‘abiogenic’ in origin*
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(a ‘mineral’ has 1 specific ‘chemical composition’)
(a ‘mineral’ is different from a ‘rock’, which can be an ‘aggregate’ of ‘minerals’ or ‘non-minerals’ and, therefore, does not have 1 specific ‘chemical composition’)
(the exact definition of a ‘mineral’ is under debate, especially with respect to the requirement that a valid species be ‘abiogenic’, and to a lesser extent with regard to it having an “ordered atomic structure”)
(the study of ‘minerals’ is called ‘mineralogy’)
(there are over 5,300 known ‘mineral species’; over 5,070 of these have been approved by the “International Mineralogical Association” (IMA))
(the ‘silicate minerals’ compose over 90% of the earth’s ‘crust’)
(the ‘diversity’ and ‘abundance’ of ‘mineral species’ is controlled by the earth’s ‘chemistry’)
(‘silicon’ and ‘oxygen’ constitute approximately 75% of the earth’s ‘crust’, which translates directly into the predominance of ‘silicate minerals’)
(‘minerals’ are distinguished by various ‘chemical’ and ‘physical’ properties)
(differences in ‘chemical composition’ and ‘crystal structure’ distinguish the various species, which were determined by the mineral’s ‘geological environment’ when formed)
(changes in the ‘temperature’, ‘pressure’, or ‘bulk composition’ of a ‘rock mass’ cause changes in its ‘minerals’)
(‘minerals’ can be described by their various ‘physical properties’, which are related to their ‘chemical structure’ and ‘composition’)
(common distinguishing characteristics include ‘crystal structure’ and ‘habit’, ‘hardness’, ‘lustre’, ‘diaphaneity’, ‘color’, ‘streak’, ‘tenacity’, ‘cleavage’, ‘fracture’, ‘parting’, and ‘specific gravity’)
(more specific tests for describing minerals include ‘magnetism’, ‘taste’ or ‘smell’, ‘radioactivity’, and ‘reaction to acid’)
(‘minerals’ are classified by ‘key chemical constituents’; the 2 dominant systems are the ‘dana classification’ and the ‘strunz classification’)
(the ‘silicate class’ of ‘minerals’ is subdivided into 6 subclasses by the degree of ‘polymerization’ in the ‘chemical structure’)
(all ‘silicate minerals’ have a base unit of a [SiO4]4− silica tetrahedron—that is, a ‘silicon cation’ coordinated by 4 ‘oxygen anions’, which gives the shape of a ‘tetrahedron’)
(these ‘tetrahedra’ can be polymerized to give the subclasses: ‘orthosilicates’ (no ‘polymerization’, thus single ‘tetrahedra’), ‘disilicates’ (2 ‘tetrahedra’ bonded together), ‘cyclosilicates’ (‘rings’ of ‘tetrahedra’), ‘inosilicates’ (chains of ‘tetrahedra’), ‘phyllosilicates’ (sheets of ‘tetrahedra’), and ‘tectosilicates’ (‘3-dimensional network’ of ‘tetrahedra’))
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(other important ‘mineral groups’ include…)
*the ‘native elements’*
‘sulfides’
‘oxides’
‘halides’
‘carbonates’
‘sulfates’
‘phosphates’
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*👨🔬🕵️♀️🙇♀️*SKETCHES*🙇♂️👩🔬🕵️♂️*
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💕💝💖💓🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤❤️💚💛🧡❣️💞💔💘❣️🧡💛💚❤️🖤💜🖤💙🖤💙🖤💗💖💝💘
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*🌈✨ *TABLE OF CONTENTS* ✨🌷*
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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥*we won the war* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥