Minerals Quiz

[Squatch]

For all the rockhounds here, this quiz will test your knowledge of various minerals based on 10 physical properties. I'll arrange them in order from easiest to hardest.

1) ________________
Hardness: 1
Crystal Class: Monoclinic (2/m)
Cleavage: <001> Perfect
Color: Pale green, white, light gray
Formula: Mg3Si4O10(OH)2

2) ________________
Hardness: 7
Crystal Class: Trigonal-Trapezohedal (3 2)
Cleavage: <0110> Indistinct
Color: Brown, Colorless, Violet, Gray, Yellow
Formula: SiO2

3) ________________
Hardness: 7.5
Crystal Class: Isometric-Hexoctahedral (4/m 3 2/m)
Cleavage: None
Color: Blood red, Orange red, Purple red, Pink, Black red
Formula: Mg3Al2(SiO4)3

4) ________________
Hardness: 4 & 7 (binary hardness)
Crystal Class: Triclinic-Pinacoidal (-1)
Cleavage: <100> Perfect <010> Imperfect
Color: Blue, White, Gray, Green, Black
Formula: Al2SiO5

5) ________________
Hardness: 6.5-7
Crystal Class: Triclinic-Pedial (1)
Cleavage: <0001> Indistinct <1010> Imperfect
Color: Colorless, White, Yellowish white, Gray
Formula: SiO2

[Squatch]

1. Anybody? Each clue has at least one dead giveaway

[AllegroRondo]

2. i only know the first one

talc

beyond that, Im clueless. :(

[Squatch]

3. Here are a couple clues

2-check out the formula
3-check out the crystal class and color
4-check out the hardness
5-check out the formula...look familiar? Now, look at the crystal class.

[Inchworm]

4. I'll guess

just for sport hehe

1.Talc (copied off AllegroRondo's paper)

2. Silicone Oxide

<strolls out of testing area clueless>

:shrug:

:hi:

[Squatch]

5. OK...this went over pretty well /sarcasm (answers)

1) Talc (giveaway was the hardness)
2) Quart (the garden, low-temp variety) (giveaway was the formula and crystal shape)
3) Pyrope Garnet (giveaways were the color, formula, and isometric shape)
4) Kyanite (giveaways were the color and bi-directional hardness...it's harder in one direction vs. the other)
5) Trydimite...this was a toughie. It's a high-temperature polymorph of quartz. What gave it away was that it had the same formula as low-temp quartz, but was triclinic (which means it has no crystal symmetry)

[AllegroRondo]

6. wow, Im still clueless

the only ones on that list Ive even heard of are talc and quartz.
:dunce:

[Fox Mulder]

7. Would it have been fair if I took this quiz?

I majored in geology in college.

[Squatch]

8. So did I. (How did you do before I posted the answers?)

[Fox Mulder]

9. I didn't even try.

The answers were already posted when I opened the thread.