minerals, etc...

• the Earth is consisted of 3 main parts: atmosphere, lithosphere (mantle, crust and core) and the hydrosphere
• atmosphere - gases that surround the earth
• hydrosphere - water on or near the surface of the earth
• lithosphere - solid part of the earth
• crust - outer layer of the earth
• mantle - middle layer between the crust and the core
• core - inner layers of the earth
• native elements are elements that are found in the earth's crust and are not chemically combined with other elements
• a crystal lattice is a regular arrangement of atoms in a repeating pattern.
• mineraloids are minerals that are not found in nature but are made in a laboratory
• moh's scale is a scale used to grade the hardness of minerals; this is determined by what a mineral can and cannot scratch
• a hypothesis must include the DV and the IV with the words, if...then
• the scientific method is a systematic way of gathering and analyzing data to reach a conclusion
• the independent variable is the variable that is being changed
• the dependent variable is the variable being measured as a result of the independent variable changing
• controlled variables are variables kept the same and if they're not, then that can affect the outcome of the experiment
• to calculate averages you must add all data and divide by the number
• reliability is whether the experiment's data is consistent and if the data has outliers or not
• to improve reliability you must repeat the amount of trials
• validity is whether controlled variables are kept the same, the independent variable is changed resulting in the measurement of the dependent variable
• cleavage is the tendency of a mineral to break in certain preferred directions along a smooth surface
• colour is the colour of certain minerals that distinguishes them from other minerals
• crystal shape is the natural configuration taken by the mineral as the crystal forms
• form is the general shape of the mineral; single, group or a dense mass of crystals
• fracture is the way a mineral naturally breaks other than along a flat, cleavage plane
• hardness is the measure of the mineral surface's resistance to abrasion (Moh's scale)
• lustre is the whether a mineral is metallic or non-metallic
• specific gravity is a ratio of a mineral's mass to the mass of an equal volume of water
• striations are narrow lines that cross certain mineral surfaces
• other properties include... 


  sound, smell, taste, magnetism, chemical reaction and radioactivity
• crystals are minerals that are formed into a crystalline structure
• a crystal is just a mineral that is not part of an aggregated solid, like a rock, but instead stands on its own
• igneous rocks are formed from magma that cools and solidifies.