Geol. 115 Study Guide for Lesson Two

What do you need to know (meaning understand, not just memorize) to do spectacularly well on Quiz 2? 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.)

species, variety, group, trade name, misnomer, brand name, carat, gram, karat, fineness, pearl grain, melee, Troy weight, pennyweight, density, "belly cut", Leveridge gauge, point

2) Essential Concepts

the system for naming gems: distinguish between group, species and variety and know some examples of each, why are certain species and variety names capitalized when others aren't, how and why do trade names and brand names arise (examples), be familiar with cases where these names become official and others where they don't, what is a misnomer, and what sort of names are likely to be misnomers, why does todays system of gem weights and measures lack uniformity, trace some of the terminology for gem weights to their historical antecedents, be able to use carats and grams accurately and to convert between them, distinguish between carat meaning weight and karat meaning fineness and recognize the US and international differences in stamping gold, the units appropriate to measuring pearls (millimeters, carats, grains) and when each is used, measurements apropriate to melee, pieces of jewelry with more than one stone and large gem objects, be able to calculate the price of gold per carat given a value of gold in Troy ounces, precision of weights for colored stones and diamonds, special case that applies to fractional diamond weights, differentiate the common tools used by gem dealers in weighing and measuring gems, special uses for various tools

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.)

Spessartite, grossularite, spodumene, Royal Azel, pectolite, Larimar, Howlite, spinel, pyrope garnet, carat, karat, momme, baroque, melee, pavilion