Calcite is a physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=carbonate&did=1177" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1177,'carbonate');return false;" style="color:#009000;">carbonatephysics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=mineral&did=814" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,814,'mineral');return false;" style="color:#009000;">mineral with the physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=chemical&did=862" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,862,'chemical');return false;" style="color:#009000;">chemical formula CaCO3. It is one of the most common physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=minerals&did=810" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,810,'minerals');return false;" style="color:#009000;">minerals on physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=earth&did=771" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,771,'earth');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Earth and has a wide range of uses in various industries, including physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=construction&did=1766" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1766,'construction');return false;" style="color:#009000;">construction, manufacturing, and physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=agriculture&did=912" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,912,'agriculture');return false;" style="color:#009000;">agriculture.
Properties of Calcite
Crystal System: Calcite belongs to the trigonal crystal system, which means it has threefold symmetry.
physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=hardness&did=2033" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2033,'hardness');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Hardness: It has a physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=hardness&did=2033" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2033,'hardness');return false;" style="color:#009000;">hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale, which makes it relatively soft and easily scratched.
Color: Calcite can occur in a variety of physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=colors&did=1103" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1103,'colors');return false;" style="color:#009000;">colors, including colorless, white, yellow, orange, red, pink, blue, and green.
Transparency: It can be transparent to translucent, with a vitreous to resinous physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=luster&did=2721" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2721,'luster');return false;" style="color:#009000;">luster.
Cleavage: Calcite exhibits perfect rhombohedral cleavage, which means it can be broken into rhombohedral fragments.
Double physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=refraction&did=1101" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1101,'refraction');return false;" style="color:#009000;">Refraction: One of the most unique properties of calcite is its ability to exhibit double physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=refraction&did=1101" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1101,'refraction');return false;" style="color:#009000;">refraction, meaning it can split a single physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=light&did=966" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,966,'light');return false;" style="color:#009000;">light ray into two rays.
Formation and Occurrence
Calcite forms in a variety of physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=geological&did=2731" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2731,'geological');return false;" style="color:#009000;">geologicalphysics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=environments&did=923" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,923,'environment');return false;" style="color:#009000;">environments, including sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=rocks&did=792" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,792,'rock');return false;" style="color:#009000;">rocks. It is commonly found in physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=limestone&did=2794" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2794,'limestone');return false;" style="color:#009000;">limestone, marble, and chalk, as well as in hydrothermal physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=veins&did=1015" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1015,'veins');return false;" style="color:#009000;">veins and as a component of some igneous physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=rocks&did=792" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,792,'rock');return false;" style="color:#009000;">rocks.
Uses of Calcite
Calcite has numerous industrial and commercial uses, including:
As a primary component of physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=limestone&did=2794" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2794,'limestone');return false;" style="color:#009000;">limestone and marble, which are used in physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=construction&did=1766" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1766,'construction');return false;" style="color:#009000;">construction and building physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=materials&did=1131" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1131,'material');return false;" style="color:#009000;">materials.
In the manufacturing of cement and physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=concrete&did=1567" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1567,'concrete');return false;" style="color:#009000;">concrete.
As a physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=soil&did=1187" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1187,'soil');return false;" style="color:#009000;">soil conditioner in physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=agriculture&did=912" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,912,'agriculture');return false;" style="color:#009000;">agriculture to neutralize acidic physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=soils&did=1187" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1187,'soil');return false;" style="color:#009000;">soils.
In the production of lime, which is used in physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=steel&did=1857" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1857,'steel');return false;" style="color:#009000;">steel production, physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=water&did=802" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,802,'water');return false;" style="color:#009000;">waterphysics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=treatment&did=1964" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1964,'treatment');return false;" style="color:#009000;">treatment, and various physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=chemical&did=862" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,862,'chemical');return false;" style="color:#009000;">chemical processes.
As a source of physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=calcium+carbonate&did=1462" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1462,'calcium carbonate');return false;" style="color:#009000;">calcium carbonate for use in paper, physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=plastics&did=1181" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1181,'plastic');return false;" style="color:#009000;">plastics, paint, and physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=pharmaceuticals&did=2544" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2544,'pharmaceuticals');return false;" style="color:#009000;">pharmaceuticals.
Study Guide
If you're studying calcite, here are some key concepts to focus on:
Understand the physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=chemical+composition&did=940" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,940,'chemical composition');return false;" style="color:#009000;">chemical composition and physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=crystal+structure&did=2099" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2099,'crystal structure');return false;" style="color:#009000;">crystal structure of calcite.
Learn about the physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=physical&did=2039" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2039,'physical');return false;" style="color:#009000;">physical properties of calcite, including its physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=hardness&did=2033" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2033,'hardness');return false;" style="color:#009000;">hardness, color physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=variations&did=2072" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2072,'variation');return false;" style="color:#009000;">variations, and cleavage.
Explore the formation and occurrence of calcite in different physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=geological&did=2731" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2731,'geological');return false;" style="color:#009000;">geological settings.
Examine the industrial and commercial uses of calcite in various industries.
Consider the environmental and economic significance of calcite in society.
By mastering these concepts, you will develop a comprehensive understanding of calcite and its importance in the natural world and human society.
Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as either motions of particles or energy stored in fields.