Ch 23: Physical Science - Minerals and Rocks: Help and Review
About This Chapter
Who's it for?
Anyone who needs help learning or mastering high school physical science material will benefit from taking this course. There is no faster or easier way to learn high school physical science. Among those who would benefit are:
- Students who have fallen behind in understanding chemical, physical and other characteristic of rocks and minerals
- Students who struggle with learning disabilities or learning differences, including autism and ADHD
- Students who prefer multiple ways of learning science (visual or auditory)
- Students who have missed class time and need to catch up
- Students who need an efficient way to learn about physical science and minerals and rocks
- Students who struggle to understand their teachers
- Students who attend schools without extra science learning resources
How it works:
- Find videos in our course that cover what you need to learn or review.
- Press play and watch the video lesson.
- Refer to the video transcripts to reinforce your learning.
- Test your understanding of each lesson with short quizzes.
- Verify you're ready by completing the physical science and minerals and rocks chapter exam.
Why it works:
- Study Efficiently: Skip what you know, review what you don't.
- Retain What You Learn: Engaging animations and real-life examples make topics easy to grasp.
- Be Ready on Test Day: Use the physical science and minerals and rocks chapter exam to be prepared.
- Get Extra Support: Ask our subject-matter experts any physical science and minerals and rocks question. They're here to help!
- Study With Flexibility: Watch videos on any web-ready device.
Students will review:
This chapter helps students review the concepts in a physical science and minerals and rocks unit of a standard high school physical science course. Topics covered include:
- Optical properties of minerals
- Crystal shape of minerals
- Mineral strength
- Mineral density and specific gravity
- Silicate minerals
- Non-silicate minerals
- Rocks and minerals
- Rock cycle
- Types of rocks
1. Optical Properties of Minerals: Luster, Light Transmission, Color & Streak
Minerals are conveniently identified based on their physical properties. These properties include luster, ability to transmit light, color and streak. This lesson will describe each of these properties and examples of each.
2. Crystal Shape of Minerals: Forms and Types
Did you know that the term crystal can have different meanings in addition to something pretty to look at? A crystal can refer to a regular pattern of molecules within a mineral or the shapes at a macroscopic level. This is also known as the crystal habit.
3. Mineral Strength: Tenacity, Hardness, Cleavage & Fracture
What does it mean to say that one mineral is stronger than another? This lesson will explore different minerals to identify and describe mineral strength in terms of tenacity, hardness, cleavage and fracture.
4. Mineral Density & Specific Gravity: Definition and Properties
Mineral density and specific gravity are similar properties used by mineralologists to identify minerals. This lesson describes a common practice used to determine density and specific gravity.
5. Silicate Minerals: Chemical Classifications & Examples
Silicate minerals make up the bulk of the earth's crust. All silicates are made of the same building block, the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron. This lesson describes the major silicate minerals including feldspars and quartz.
6. Non-silicate Minerals: Chemical Classifications & Examples
While most minerals are silicates, many non-silicate minerals are found in the earth's crust and are important as well. This lesson will use examples and describe the three major groups of non-silicate minerals, including carbonates, halides and sulfates.
7. Rocks and Minerals: Definitions and Differences
Can you tell the difference between a rock and a mineral? What makes a mineral so much different from a rock? Explore these questions in depth, and learn how we classify rocks and minerals.
8. Rock Cycle: Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic Rocks
In this lesson, we will discuss the three main types of rocks and how they are formed. The lesson also gives an introduction into how matter locked in rocks can be cycled through the earth.
9. Types of Rocks: The Three Major Rock Groups
Did you know that lava is molten rock that reaches the earth's surface? Furthermore, did you know that rocks exist in three general forms: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic? This lesson describes these rock types and examples of each.
Earning College Credit
Did you know… We have over 160 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Transferring credit to the school of your choice
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Other Chapters
Other chapters within the High School Physical Science: Help and Review course
- Physical Science - Understanding Matter: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Understanding Gases: Help and Review
- The Atom & Atomic Structure: Physical Science Help & Review
- Physical Science - The Periodic Table: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Understanding Chemical Bonding: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Understanding Solutions: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Stoichiometry: Help and Review
- Help & Review for Chemical Reactions, Acids & Bases in Physical Science
- Physical Science - Atomic and Nuclear Physics: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Understanding Motion: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Force, Motion, and Newton's Laws: Help and Review
- Energy, Power, Work & Thermodynamics: Help & Review
- Physical Science - Waves, Sound, and Light: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Electricity: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Thermal Physics: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Magnetism: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Intro to Organic Chemistry: Help and Review
- Physical Science - The Universe: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Atmospheric Science: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Geologic Time: Help and Review
- The Earth's Internal Structure: Physical Science Help & Review
- Physical Science - Plate Tectonics: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Igneous Rocks: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Sedimentary Rocks - A Deeper Look: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Metamorphic Rocks - A Deeper Look: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Volcanoes: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Earthquakes: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Weathering and Erosion: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Water Balance: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Ground Water: Help and Review
- Physical Science - Coastal Hazards: Help and Review
