Geol. 115 Study Guide for Lesson One

What do you need to know (meaning understand, not just memorize) to do spectacularly well on Quiz 1? The essential terms and concepts are listed below. Writing out answers to each of the following would be an excellent way to prepare.

1) Essential Vocabulary

(Be able to define or recognize the definition of these terms and understand their useage in context). You can find the information in the web lesson -- on your test, do not expect exactly the same wording or examples as in your lesson. It would be a good idea to cross reference the defintions in the lesson with those you find in the texts.)

gem or gemstone, mineral gem, organic gem, petrified gem, petrifaction, relative rarity, inherent rarity, durability, hardness, toughness, stability, precious gem, semiprecious gem, faceted cut, cabochon cut, girdle, crown, table, pavilion, culet, keel, dome, natural, synthetic, enhanced, unenhanced, simulant, fake, colored stone, jewelry gem, collector gem.

2) Essential Concepts

Gemstone: how defined with examples, be able to determine, based on this definition whether a described material is considered a gem or not, mineral vs organic gems and examples of each (special case of "petrified" gems), inherent vs relative rarity with gem examples of each, colored stone vs diamond, parts of a typical faceted stone, parts of a cabochon, jewelry gem vs collector gem and examples, processes that create natural gems, meaning and current use of terms precious and semi-precious, relative vs inherent rarity (and examples of each), differentiate the three aspects of durability: hardness, toughness, stability with examples, why are the terms precious and semi-precious rarely used by gemologists, be able to describe the two major cutting styles and recognize descriptions or pictures of same, basic parts of a faceted and a cabochon gem, discriminate between the concepts of origin: (natural vs synthetic) and gem treatment status: (enhanced vs unenhanced), examples of commonly accepted enhancements). Simulant vs fake (examples), industry classification of gems as colored stones or diamonds, jewelry vs collector gems, two reasons a gem might be not be found in jewelry.

3) Pronunciation Guide

(Clicking on the term will temporarily take you to a new web page to hear the pronunciation of the word. Depending on your browser configuration either put away the audio window, or use the back button to return to the list.)

iolite, petrifaction, calcareous, Kunzite, ammolite, rutilated quartz, corundum, Benitoite, Tanzanite, cabochon, peridot, lapis lazuli, zoisite, culet, faux, phenakite, rhodocrosite, clinohumite