|
| Our subscribers' grade-level estimate for this page: 3rd - 5th |
 |
Rock and Mineral Dictionary |
 |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
 impact crater Impact craters are the remains of collisions between an asteroid or meteorite and the Earth. |
imperial jade Imperial jade is another name for emerald jade. It is a fine emerald-green color. |
imperial topaz Imperial topaz is golden orange-yellow topaz; it is the most valuable type of topaz. |
Imperial Mexican jade Imperial Mexican jade is not jade at all; it is calcite that has been dyed green. |
Inca emerald Inca emerald is an emerald that is mined in Equador. |
inclusion An inclusion is a particle of foreign matter contained within a mineral. Inclusions can be solid, liquid, or gaseous. Many inclusions decrease the value of a stone, but some, like rutile forming asterisms in star sapphires and needles in rutilated quartz and tourmalinated quartz, are prized. |
  index fossil Index fossils are commonly found fossils that are limited in time span. They help in dating other fossils. For example: trilobites were common during the Paleozoic, but not found before the Permian period, and ammonites were common during the Mesozoic Era, but not found after the Cretaceous period. |
Indian agate Indian agate is another term for moss agate. |
indicolite Indicolite is a green to blue-green variety of tourmaline. |
intergrown Intergrown crystals occur when two mineral crystals grow together and become one. |
intrusive igneous rock Intrusive rocks are igneous rocks that have formed (and cooled slowly) beneath the surface of the Earth. These rocks usually have a coarse-grained or medium-grained texture, like granite. |
Inverall sapphire Inverall sapphires are a type of sapphire from Inverall, New South Wales. |
iolite Iolite (meaning 'violet stone'), also known as water sapphire and lynx sapphire, is a transparent, violet-blue, light blue, or yellow-gray mineral. Iolite is pleochroic; a single stone will show many colors (in the case of Iolite, violet-blue, light blue, and yellow-gray). Iolite is not rare and has a hardness of 7 - 7.5. Iolite is found in Sri Lanka, India, Madagascar and Burma. |
ion An ion is an atom that is missing one or more electrons; ions have an electrical charge. |
 iridescent An iridescent object displays many lustrous, changing colors. Iridescence is caused by the reflection of light from the jewel. |
iridium Iridium is a metal related to platinum. Iridium and platinum are frequently alloyed together, since the iridium increases the workability of the platinum. Iridium is also used for the points of gold-nibbed pens. |
Iridium anomaly Iridium is an element that is rare on the Earth's surface, but abundant on chondritic meteors. The presence of excess Iridium at the K-T layer (the Iridium anomaly) supports the Alvarez asteroid theory. |
Irish diamond Irish diamond is not a diamond at all; it is rock crystal from Ireland. |
iron Iron is a metal. Its mineral forms include pyrite and marcasite). |
irradiation Irradiation is the act of being exposed to radiation. Many stones (like kunzite) are irradiated in order to enhance their color. Being irradiated changes the crystal structure of the mineral by moving electrons. Irradiation techniques bombard the crystal with high-energy radiation (like gamma rays), producing a stone with very little radioactivity and a change of color. Some color changes caused by Irradiation are permanent, others care unstable and be reversed by heating or exposure to sunlight. For example, colorless topaz changes to a cinnamon brown color after ibeing irradiated with cobalt-60 radiation, but the color fades as the stone is exposed to sunlight. A new method of irradiation changes clear topaz to a brilliant, non-fading blue. |
 isotope An isotope of an element is another form of the same element, that has a different number of neutrons in the nucleus (giving it a different atomic weight). |
Italian lapis Italian lapis is not lapis; it is actually blue-dyed jasper from Italy. |
|
Rock and Mineral Dictionary |
|
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Enchanted Learning®
Over 35,000 Web Pages
Sample Pages for Prospective Subscribers, or click below
|
Overview of Site What's New Enchanted Learning Home Monthly Activity Calendar Books to Print Site Index K-3 Crafts K-3 Themes Little Explorers Picture dictionary PreK/K Activities Rebus Rhymes Stories Writing Cloze Activities Essay Topics Newspaper Writing Activities Parts of Speech Fiction The Test of Time
|
Biology Animal Printouts Biology Label Printouts Biomes Birds Butterflies Dinosaurs Food Chain Human Anatomy Mammals Plants Rainforests Sharks Whales Physical Sciences: K-12 Astronomy The Earth Geology Hurricanes Landforms Oceans Tsunami Volcano |
Languages Dutch French German Italian Japanese (Romaji) Portuguese Spanish Swedish Geography/History Explorers Flags Geography Inventors US History Other Topics Art and Artists Calendars College Finder Crafts Graphic Organizers Label Me! Printouts Math Music Word Wheels |
Click to read our Privacy Policy
| Search the Enchanted Learning website for: |
